Picking Out Eggshells

Analogies. They all break down at some point.  BUT, until they do, I find them quite useful.  Sometimes, I think analogies make more sense then the thing they are trying to describe.

My piano teacher here at home has used an analogy before that makes perfect sense.  She tells her students that working on technique and notes and making them perfect and then going back and trying to add dynamics and emotion to a piece is like baking a cake and then trying to add the eggs.  She mentioned this analogy to me in my lesson this past week. 

And my mind, as it is prone to do, began thinking about this cake-baking analogy and expanding it (warping it?) to fit my own situation. 

Here is what I came up with:

I've been baking a cake, for years now. And just recently, I've come to realize (and been shown), that I have baked a cake with eggshells in it.  So now, I'm trying to go back and pick out all the eggshells…all without actually ruining the cake.  It's hard work.  It's meticulous.  It gets boring.  It gets frustrating.  And trying to accomplish this task without ruining the cake is one of the hardest things I have had to do. There are times when I'm certain I've ruined my cake entirely.  It looks hopeless and I feel like throwing the whole cake out.  There are times when I want to give up and just keep the cake with the eggshells in it.  But I could never enjoy my cake, knowing that there are eggshells in it.

One of the frustrating parts of this task I've undertaken is having people tell me what a beautiful cake I have, and how I've worked so hard on this cake, and how much I loved this cake, and then asking why I would ever want to throw it out.  But picking out eggshells is a difficult task and there are many days when I no longer see the beauty of the cake, when I don't care how long I've worked at making this cake, and when giving up the cake sounds so much better then attempting to keep a crumbling cake together.

I can understand what they see:  they see the completed task - an eggshell-free cake - changed from how it was three years ago, but still a cake.  Still edible, still delicious, still something to be proud of.  They see what the finished product could be without all the eggshells.  And they try to encourage me to keep working at my task. 

While it can be frustrating to hear these comments when I think I'd rather have people tell me "You're right.  Just throw the cake out", it is the words of these people that keep me going on the days when it gets hard.  It is these people that I know will stick around and cheer me on and encourage my efforts.  Some of these people have even sat and helped me pick out eggshells. 

And so I carry on, picking out eggshells and striving to take what seems like a completely ruined creation at times, and make it into something beautiful.

My cake is chocolate. Of Course. 

Thank you to all of you who help me pick out eggshells, and to those who remind me that it's worth it.  Some days, you're the only thing that keeps me working at this task.  Thank you for your patient guidance and your faithful encouragement.  You are God's blessings to me. 

"Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and the one who waters will himself be watered." Proverbs 11:25