God's Cake

 

            If your child ever complains that the whole world is crashing in, all you have to do is make a cake from scratch.

 

            That's right - a cake!

 

            Say your child has just gotten a bad grade, or had a fight with a best friend, or got cut from a team, or found out someone was spreading a rumor about him or her. It can all pile up to be pretty depressing.

 

            But make a cake with your child, and you can teach a good life lesson.

            "You like cake, don't you?" you could ask your child. Of course! "Here, have some cooking oil, then," you could say.

 

            "Yuck!"

            "How about a couple of raw eggs?"

 

            "Gross!"

            "Would you like a nice cup of flour, then? Or maybe some baking soda?"

 

            "Mom, those are all yucky!"

            That's your cue to reply: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!"

            That's the answer for why we have to go through bad things. God makes them work together so that, in the long run, it turns out for our good. It says so in the Bible:

 

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

-- Romans 8:28

 

            Bad grade? That should just make you resolve to study next time.

 

            Fight with best friend? Apologize!

 

            Cut from the team? Use the time off to get better, or get into a new sport or hobby.

 

            Rumor mill? Ignore it. The quality people will know it isn't true.

 

            Helping your child put life's little bumps in the road into perspective is . . . a piece of cake.

 

By Susan Darst Williams • www.GoBigEd.com • Heart Lessons 012 • © 2006