I Am a Pot Roast

I made a pot roast today.  Not too exciting, but for me, it turned into a picture of my life.  I started with whole vegetables.  Everything had to be diced into little pieces, much like my heart this past year.

But then I made sense of it.  I grouped the pieces together and it made a pretty picture.

Making sense of all the pieces

Alas, it could not stay this way.  I had to mix everything together.  It was hard work.  At first, all the ingredients didn't want to mix.  In the same way, I have a hard time coping with all the different aspects of my life getting all jumbled in my head.  It doesn't make as pretty a picture either.

All jumbled up

Then comes the waiting.  From the outside, it doesn't look like a lot is happening.  It's frustrating to wait for hours.  But inside the pot, changes occur in almost imperceptible increments.  Right now, it seems like my life is a mixed up pot of chopped up dreams, alone and still.  But God is working on the inside, melding these pieces together and working His "seasoning" into them.  He is creating under the surface.

Waiting, waiting, waiting

I know that one day, I will understand what He is making.  One day, the pot lid will come off to reveal a wonderful aroma of a repurposed life.  Just like the odor of pot roasts wafts through the home, beckoning the family to come enjoy a feast, so I hope my life spreads a welcome to sit at the feet of Jesus.

The finished pot roast' colors are less vibrant than they were.  They've been through excruciating heat that leaves them changed.  But the roast is more useful now.  It is not meant to be admired for its appearance, but rather for it's purpose of filling bellies in a pleasant and nutritious manner.

The finished product, permeated with flavor

I will emerge from this Refiner's Fire more effective for the kingdom of God.  My beauty will lie in the flavor of God's Word and the aroma of His love.  I sit in the slow and often agonizing middle phase now, but I'm keeping my eye on the pot roast I will become.