Sometimes, when a woman makes it to the end of her rope she realizes it was tied to treasure, the tasty variety!

Over the last few months my world has taken a nose dive, followed by a severe left turn, a sudden sky rocket, and six more unexpected whiplash inducing maneuvers. On top of that I have three kids, one cat, one mammoth dog, and eight chickens who all rely on me to provide life sustaining care (we can talk about their poor decision making skills in another post).

Any who, after a few days of far too much coffee, regularly skipped meals, and occasional apple, I was feeling like a hot(ish) meal for this Mama would be nice.

I personally like to eat when all the things that like to help me eat are sound asleep and far from my plate. After a long day I sit myself right down on the sofa and eat with the mutable people who stay in their little black box and talk, but not directly to me, and never come over and try to sit in my lap or backwash into my tall glass of ice water.

Last night I arrived at the end of a very long week, mentally and physically sustained by large doses of Jesus, caffeine, and allergy medication. When it was finally time to decide what to eat I couldn’t decide between frozen gluten free waffles (high class ,I know), or a savory grilled cheese with slices of sharp cheddar cheese melted into perfect slippery piles of tasty goodness. Problem is, no bread. It seemed there was no choice to be made, the choice was made for me by my lack of planning skills and distaste for gluten free breads and their price tags.

At this point I was almost discouraged to the point of voluntary starvation. Waffles were my second choice but a distant second. If it wasn’t carbs covered in melted cheese it was next to no use to me. But, a woman has to eat or she has to go buy new pants and I don’t have time for that.

As I disappointedly watched my frozen dinner toast I realized something life changing, waffles are bread! What?! Then my brain kicked in and I went in hot pursuit for the cheese drawer (I bet you know where this is going). I cut some sweet sweet slices of that dairy goodness and stuck it between two hot waffles, buttered to perfection. Then the question, “To syrup or not to syrup?” It didn’t take long to make the right choice; Pour it on, baby!

Now, some might believe this choice was made by the exhausted mind of a over the counter medicated mom just hanging on by a thread, but I believe it was the hidden culinary talent that hangs out at the bottom of my soul and waits for all the other skills to to get out of the way. It will not share the stage.

It was delirious brilliance; what every mom has at the end of a hard day. A firework display at the conclusion of a wild and exceedingly challenging, but beautiful performance. Isn’t that what motherhood is?

As I savored each delicious bite I couldn’t help but think to myself what a lesson I had just learned. That just when I think I have nothing left to give, when I’ve spent all of me and life is not providing what I think I need, I’m reminded that who I am and what I can do is not defined by me or my surrounds. Who I am and what I have to give are defined by my creator and sustainer.

So, when you get to the end of your rope and it seems nothing good can come out of the choices left, remember that God ties treasures to the end of the rope to remind us that it’s not the rope that is in charge. Find the blessings in the final challenges, look for the delicious opportunities tucked inside the frozen waffle box.

To some it may have only been a meal in the belly, but to me it was a meal to my soul. A reminder that when life gives me an O’ sheep moment, God gives me a pep-talk and a praise the Lord, covered in sweet- sweet syrup.