Cheese and Jesus

Let me tell you a story....once upon a time there was a family, a dad, a mom and two little girls that are two years apart.

They’re at a water park and they decide to break for lunch. The mom and dad have sandwiches, so they brought bread, meat and cheddar cheese, and the girls have Lunchables. The youngest had just opened her Lunchable and was about to start eating, when all of a sudden, her cheese was gone! She looks right, she looks left, she looks down, and finally, she looks up and her cheese is in the beak of a seagull!!!

So, she starts crying so hard! Like, balling! And her parents try to calm her down saying “oh it's ok don't worry we have extra cheese that we brought so you can have some of ours.”

But there was no calming down that drama queen because she wanted HER cheese, and she wanted it NOW. It was already cut up and so convenient and cute! But what she didn't know is that the cheddar tasted better. She didn't know that it was a lot healthier for her. She didn't know that it was overall better for her because she was so used to American cheese.

Sometimes it's like that in life. We get so used to something that when it gets taken away we throw a fit. And God is saying that He has something so much better for us. Something that tastes better. Something that is way healthier.

This reminds me of Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Encouragement #1: God knows you!

We learn here in chapter 29 that God has plans for us now...but we learn in Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; God has always known you and will always know you. We learn in Psalm 139 that He knows our sitting down and our rising up, He discerns our going out and our lying down, and is familiar with all our ways, Before we speak, He knows what we are going to say. The little girl in the story knew her parents loved her but they didn’t know everything she was thinking. They didn't know how much she sat down and got up. However, God our Father in heaven does!

Encouragement #2: God has a good plan for you!

In the story of the little girl with the cheese...she didn’t know that the cheddar cheese was a lot healthier for her and tasted better. But God knows His plans are always better and healthier for us. They are plans to prosper us and not to harm us.

Just like my parents knew that it would be better for me, God knows that His plans are better for us. Yes...I did say “my parents” and yes, I am the little girl in the story. I’m the drama queen. And now today, even though I still like American cheese (sorry mom), I know that Cheddar Cheese is better quality and healthier for you (thanks mom) . This is also like in life, we still may like our plans, but God’s plans are so much better.

Encouragement #3: God has a future for you!

Romans 8:25 says “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

I wanted my cheese NOW! Sometimes WE want God’s plans now. I threw a fit when I couldn’t have it NOW! Sometimes we throw fits when we don’t see God’s plan happening now. I didn’t want what was NOW being offered to me ! Sometimes we don’t see the blessing of what God is offering to us now.

"Let's roll, girly pop!" - Laci

Stop mourning the American cheese you lost, when God is trying to give you the better cheddar!