I remember the day we went to register for wedding gifts. He was just as excited as I was to grab that scan gun and go a little crazy. With every beep of the scanner, we would laugh and imagine how that bowl or this picture would look in our little apartment. As it came time to select a few basic appliances, he was determined to get a waffle iron. His mom had used one every Christmas and he wanted one too. I was so excited to hear him share his family traditions and as a blushing bride, I was ready to make sure we used his traditions and mine and create our own. I joyfully scanned that waffle iron with visions of hot, fluffy, syrup drenched waffles gracing my table one day.
Time passes and that waffle iron is sitting in my kitchen cabinet. Everytime I open it to get my slow cooker, I see it. It hasn't made as many appearances as I would have liked. Somehow life has gotten in the way. We've become busy with kids, practices, games, church, work, and all the other pieces of daily life. That same waffle iron that was supposed to usher in new traditions is at this moment collecting dust.
Cold. Lifeless.
To be honest, that waffle iron is a little like me at the moment. All the pushes and pulls of life have left me feeling empty and worn out. My life is no where near the same picture it was that day while standing with a scan gun in my mind. There have been bumps and bruises. There have been tears and smiles. There has been joy and sorrow. There have been seasons of much fruit and seasons of lifelessness. Even though the picture I was creating that day with the scan gun is not my reality, I can truthfully and honestly say that reality is so much better.
Life lesson...when life give you waffles, sometimes you have to make pancakes instead.
