A blessing in brokeness
The original post has been added too.

Today I was busy with my final preparations for our Christmas. This included cleaning, some cooking and most importantly baking "Jesus' Birthday Cake". My husbands grandmother was an incredible baker and after she passed we were gifted with some of her baking pans. We have two heart shaped pans and it has become our family tradition to bake a heart shaped cake and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus on Christmas Eve.

It h
as become a beautiful reminder of what Jesus wants most from us, our heart. We take some time to reflect on ways over the past year we have let Jesus in to our hearts and look at how we can do better during the next year.

All was going as planned until I went to put the two layers together. They fell apart with big cracks. I sat there looking at it and thought how fitting it really was. Jesus doesn't want us to be perfect before we give Him our hearts. He wants us just as we are; cracked, imperfect, and broken. See the picture below:

I began to reflect on this year and that cake looks much like I feel. There have been some great victories this year; I was able to hit a goal of getting back into my wedding gown after 19 years and four kids. My husbands company has had the best year yet since being in business. My kids are growing up to be great people. We have our health and each other.

But there have been some challenges too. I have had to put on the shelf some of my personal goals and dreams for a season of b
eing home with the children. It became apparent that I could not do both right now. I have personally struggles with feeling like I was loosing my identity. His peace has prevailed and I know I am where I should be; doing what He has for me right now. That was clearly evident when persecution came our way. I have really had to push to keep connected with God this year, and some days I don't get there.

As I looked at my broken cake (which I would not have been able to eat anyway; I gave up sugars this year); I am excited to see what the next year will hold for me and my family. I know that even though we have some broken areas right now, through His grace and mercy we can become whole. I pray that all of you have a Merry Christmas and an incredible New Year.

As I was typing this post, there arose such a clatter!! It seems the puppy has cleaned the cake platter....
















Isn't that what Christ does for us? Wipe our hearts clean? I love the sense of humor our God has.

Blessings,


9 Comments:

Blogger Wendy Pope said...

Oh Charlene, what a beautiful cake and an even more beautiful interpretation put to words. Thank you for sharing yourself so personally.
I love you friend!

Anonymous Melissa Taylor said...

I agree with Wendy! Beautiful cake and interpretation. Charlene, thank you so much for opening up like this, straight from your heart. Not all seasons of our life go how we plan, but as you have shown in your life, we need to seek God first and follow Him, even when we are feeling broken. THANK YOU so much for this post! And I love your cake!!!!

Merry Christmas,
Melissa

Anonymous melissa Taylor said...

Hilarious!!!!!! That is soooo funny!

I'm so glad you told me to go back and read again!

Love you Charlene!

Blogger Joyful said...

Great analogy Charlene. The cake that would represent my year would look very similar to yours. So thankful for God's faithfulness and love. Thankful for second chances and fresh starts and a God who wipes my heart clean.

Merry Christmas my friend. Blessings to you and your family.
Hugs,
Joy

Blogger Renee Swope said...

Beautiful post Charlene!! So many things in my life are "breaking" these days but you reminded me that God takes what is broken and brings a blessing. I can see that in each trial our family has/is going through.

Merry Christmas friend!
Renee

Ps. The dog eating your cake was hilarious. God definitely has a sense of humor!

Blogger Tracie Miles said...

Seriously, your dog at the cake? Geesh! Oh well, guess that removed any sugar-eating temptations. What a wonderful reminder of Gods love through your broken cake. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas and that 2010 fulfills your dreams!

Blogger Melanie said...

Hi Charlene - It was such a great post! You are such a great wife and mother, with a heart in the right place and priorities surrendered to the One who loves you so much. Nice to see you posting again. And girl, I can relate! Know that I pray for you often.
You need to post a before and after picture because you inpsired me this past year! You look so fantastic!!!

Anonymous Kristen Myers said...

Charlene,

Oh sweet friend, how wonderful to see you posting again.

Isn't God amazing! Even when you may not always feel like you are connecting with God, He is sure to connect with you, even through a cake. He is such a tender father, isn't he?

I will keep praying for you as you enter the new year and continue to realize that God's plans are so much better than ours.

Love ya lots!

P.S. Coffee with the Savior releases on January 4th! Your encouraging words were the first ones I heard regarding this project. Now look! Wow. You can see it at www.cph.org under New Releases, if you want. Thanks again!

Blogger Zoe Elmore said...

Great post Charlene. Did your doggie get sick after licking the plate? Years ago our dog ate an entire bowl of Hershey kisses and boy did we have a mess to clean up.
Thanks for sharing your heart.
I still want to visit that consignment shop with you. How about one Friday?

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I am taking some time away from speaking to glean more from God and draw closer to Him. I need to be at home more with my children for a season. I will continue to post on my blog and update you all. I covet your prayers during this new season.
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