one of the first few weeks here in india, i had the chance to celebrate my birthday.
as part of the birthday celebration, we went to a beautifully displayed buffet of veg and non-veg food. i was elated beyond my wildest dreams when to my surprise i saw a spread of freshly cut vegetables! i grabbed a plate full of carrots, cucumbers, red peppers, and what i thought was green beans. when i joyously brought the plate back to my table, i took a giant bite out of the green beans, and to my dismay my mouth suddenly self-combusted. okay not really, but my lips swelled, and i started sweating from every possible orifice on my face.
turns out, the "green bean" was a spicy spicy green pepper. i almost died on my 26th birthday, but i learned a valuable lesson...don't judge a book by it's cover!
no, but in all reality, i didn't really learn a lesson that night except how to make my mouth not so hot--yogurt and sugar does the trick. the lesson i was to learn from that singular experience came several weeks later in the form of a church talk on june 24th. what i learned was this:
when we are eating sweet fruits (like mangos and pineapples) we enjoy how they taste. however, when we partake of things that are bitter, spicy, and overpowering (GREEN PEPPERS), we can no longer taste the sweet fruit. the woman telling this analogy related those to embittered sentiments, frustration, jealousy, impatience, etc. when we are experiencing these feelings it's difficult to see the good and to continue to live a "sweet life."
this woman at church taught me such a simple, yet powerful lesson. honestly, when i ate that chili pepper, i could think of no other things. i couldn't think about the delicious coconut rice or sweet mago lassi i had just had--all i could think about was how to make my whole body not go into shock and how to retain my taste buds.
much like what she taught, it's a good reminder to keep ourselves free from things that will taint our sweetness. let's try to smile a little more, and to think more positively about those who surround us daily.
much love from india,
brookie
3 comments:
This is a great lesson. I will remember this for future reference when my life is in crisis because someone is "keeping" me from seeing the good at work or in general. There is more good than bad in life and this is a true reminder. Love you!
I love how the Lord teaches us through the simplest things! I had a similar (not same lesson) with a broken GPS the other day that suddenly worked just when I needed it to... When we are in tune with the Spirit we will learn great things.
i love the GPS example! you never know when things will become totally clear....
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