A Spoonful of Sugar

In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun
You find the fun and snap, the job’s a game
And every task you undertake becomes a piece of cake
A lark, a spree, it’s very clear to see
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
In a most delightful way

~Marry Poppins

The morning was chilly as I poured a steamy hot cup of coffee before I sat down to read my bible and pray. I breathed in its aroma- mmm . . . and took a small sip. It was slightly bitter. For a moment I thought I would add my vanilla flavored stevia to sweeten it just a bit and then I just decided not to and headed for the lounge chair. But the Lord stopped me for an opportune object lesson that was to extend throughout my weekend.
“Liz, why not add that stevia to your coffee? The coffee is bitter. The stevia will sweeten it up a bit. There are no calories in it- nothing unhealthy about it. Go ahead. Add a little sweetness to your morning cup of coffee.”

So I went back and added a few drops to sweeten my coffee.

Recently, my youngest daughter and I watched “Marry Poppins” and so the song “Just a Spoonful of Sugar” came to my mind and I smiled to myself as God’s loving light began to spread its warmth throughout my soul once again.

In the past couple months, the course of my life has majorly shifted. My spiritual foundations have been broken. This has been a very emotionally difficult process. It as if God took pruning shears and pruned my spiritual life-tree back to the stump and I am in the winter waiting for the new growth. Needless to say, it is a painful time in my life, but full of hope and anticipation.

So throughout this weekend God spoke to me about the “spoonful of sugar” many times over again. I have had to pray much to keep my emotions in check and I have been praying about the restoration of the Joy of the Lord into my heart and many other burdens. That little bit of sugar that began in my morning cup of coffee, started popping up all throughout the day as God opened my eyes to the “spoonfuls of sugar” he gives us everyday.

It could be a sunrise, a cool morning breeze, a flock of geese flying overhead, beautiful billowly clouds shimmering in artistic majesty as we drive along the highway. The golden sunsets. A word of encouragement from one dear friend. Really they are innumerable. There really are bowlfuls of sugar all around us. But we need only to take a few spoonfuls to make a difference in the flavor of life.

“You see Liz, the sweetness is always there. Just like the stevia was there all along for your coffee. But you had a choice. You could drink your coffee bitter, or you could partake of the sweetness and add it to the coffee and when you did, it made the bitter sweet.”

Yes, life has much bitterness, much heartache, much woe and care. But all along the way are spoon-fulls of sugar, that if we keep our eyes open to, we can add them into our cup and it will help the medicine go down, in the most delightful way!

“The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord”

Psalms 33:5