A gift to be opened

Remember the caramel apples I told you about last week?  We tried to make them over the weekend.

Yep, we loved them that much.  

We scoured the internet for the best recipes.  The non-chef in me opted for the one with the fewest ingredients, that didn’t start with making our own caramel from scratch.  That same non-chef didn’t see why it would be a big deal to need to “lightly grease” the aluminum foil before places our luscious hot treats on the tray to cool.

So we just jumped in.

In what felt like no time at all, we had these beautiful caramel apples, tempting all our senses, heading toward the fridge to cool. All throughout dinner we laughed about how yummy those apples were going to be and how “creative” we’d been with making them ourselves.  We were basically drooling, by the time we finished dinner and removed these beauties from their cooling spot in the fridge.

Until we tried to removed the first one.  

They were stuck.  They weren’t just stuck to the foil, they were stuck to each other.  No big deal, right?  We could easily just peel them off.

Not exactly.

Those apples had become one with that foil, and each other.  It was as if they were one giant monster of temptation, that could be seen and smelled, but only tasted after what felt like hours of devoted effort.  But we weren’t about to give up now.  We got out a little torch and melted that foil off, bit, by bit, by bit.  (let’s not think about the carcinogens we acquired here, just stick to the apples. . . ha!)

We conquered those apples.

Every last bite.  And while they were STICKY, they were delicious.  They were a precious gift, made with love and anticipation. They brought joy to our taste buds, but also our hearts.  We laughed until we snorted and made some lasting memories that day.

What looked like a problem to be solved, was really a gift to be opened. 

Our little apple story is simple imagery of the gifts unfolding in your life today.  The things that you once awaited with anticipation, but now feel like problems.  The things that keep you up at night with worry.  The circumstances that have you feeling stuck with nowhere to turn . . .

Shift your perspective.

Imagine that problem as a gift, just waiting to be opened.  I know it sounds simplistic, but it’s profound.  As you do the next right thing, you’re peeling back a layer of the gift.  It may feel frustrating, like all is lost, and your dream is ruined.

But it isn’t.  

There’s a gift in every circumstance, if only you’ll wait long enough, look hard enough, work hard enough to find it.

“Your life is not a problem to be solved, but a gift to be opened.” ~ Wayne Muller

to more love,

Crystal