If you are like my husband, Ivan, you absolutely love chocolate. To set a big piece of chocolate cake in front of him with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is certainly his “heaven.” His eyes light up as he grabs his fork and digs into the lusciousness of this sweet treat.
When we look at the above picture of this dessert, we see there are four layers and between each layer is the doubly sweet frosting, which is thicker with each layer. The top layer of frosting, if you will notice, is twice the thickness of the rest and swirled around to look just perfect. Are you salivating yet? Be honest.
When I look at this picture, it makes me think of all the layers we have in our life. The layers of love, hatred, compassion, hurt, marriage, divorce, abuse, and death. Each layer sits on top of the other. Oh, there might be the “frosting” of a celebration or a new love, but the “layers” before are still under us and more will be added throughout our lives.
Another thing that comes to mind are those who suffer from addictions, including drugs and alcohol. Oh, this addiction might begin with “recreational drugs” or teen experimentation. Smoking pot and drinking beer at a party is not harmful, they say, but weekend after weekend can turn into day after day and hour after hour. When that thrill and effect diminishes, the next layer usually is meth or cocaine, wine or hard liquor; whatever keeps them from feeling. And on and on….
Addicts can work very hard at hiding their addiction, kind of like swirling the pretty frosting on the top of a cake. Nobody see the cracked layers underneath. Families are shattering, anger and abuse fill relationships and addictions most of the time are used to hide the hurt. Usually, their family knows about the cracks in the layers and have suffered along with them. So, all of a sudden this “cake”, or person, doesn’t look so good, after all. Life turns out to be not-so-sweet after all.
The beauty of the Lord is that He sees the whole “cake”; every single layer, and He still loves and accepts us. He made us and put in every ingredient that we would need to live in joyful communion with Him. Wait a minute! I just had a thought….When He covers us with His unconditional and sweet love, it is like He ices every inch of a cake. His sacrifice on the cross covers our sins and He completely envelopes us as His child. Yum!!!
“O, God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise You.”
Psalm 63:105
This Tuesday, on the “Chained No More” radio broadcast, my guest will be Theresa Pueschel from Pacific Northwest Adult and Teen Challenge, a ministry to those who suffer from drug and alcohol addiction and take the step to be healed of it. She was addicted to meth and cocaine and God led her to this vibrant ministry. Tune into the show on Tuesday at 11-noon PST at toginet.com. You can also download the podcast later that day and beyond at toginet.com/shows/chainednomore. It will be powerful and inspiring.
#hope #divorce #drugs #alcoholics #addiction #chainednomore #godslove