Smashed Potatoes

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (The Message)

So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.

I wrote an email update about potatoes recently, but I've been thinking more about them in recent days.  Often times, the potatoes we get 'served' are much larger than we might and seem unappealing.  For me, the more appealing ways to eat potatoes are as french fries, chips, mashed potatoes with lots of toppings,or au gratin.  I picture myself staring at this grouping of potatoes on my plate (the trial) and as I sit there, I see it transforming before my very eyes.  It's as if Jesus says, 'I won't remove the potato from your plate, but we'll work together on this one.' 
 
As we look back on the trials in our lives, we can often times more clearly see God's hand and leading.  It doesn't usually take away the pain or hurt that often accompanies trials.  As I reflect on the past seven years in Romania, I've often thought that if I knew all the challenges these years held when I first arrived in Bucharest, I would likely have been on the first plane back to Minnesota.  In God's faithfulness, He walked me through one serving of potatoes at a time.  I can't say that I can look back and understand the purpose of every single difficult thing, but I can see how I've grown (which is certainly probably part if not all of the purpose).  I'm so thankful that God only gives us the size serving of potatoes that he knows we can handle, without threatening that there are more on the way, or pushing us faster than we're ready to go.  What a great God we have.