I was excitedly anticipating our Christmas dinner that we were about to enjoy.

My china I bought as a teenager from my savings bank was set out on the red and green plaid tablecloth.  Fancy napkins with the family silver were laid out exquisitely.

All that was needed now was for the precious family members to gather in their assigned seats with hand-made place-cards. 

The hot dishes were ready to be served. The cold ones were on their appropriate serving plates ready to grace the table.

Willing hands brought all the food to the table when suddenly I realized that I had forgotten the cranberry sauce. 

With one final glance at the gorgeously-laid out table, I went to take out the cranberry sauce, cut it, and put it on a small china plate.

Carrying it as the final adornment to my festive dining room, I turned to head back to the table.

To my horror, there in the middle of the table was my big stainless steel Dutch oven pot!

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

My exquisite presentation was ruined.

Turning to the guilty party I said, “Kinza, why did you put that pot on the table?”

She was nonplussed as to what I was so upset about. Shrugging her shoulders, she said “You didn’t give me a china dish to put the mashed potatoes in.”

We all laughed about it and proceeded to get on with our yummy Christmas dinner – stainless steel pot and all. 

In reality having a stainless steel pot on the Christmas table did not fit my image of what I wanted this festive gathering to look like.

Not at all.

Yet there it was – taking the largest space on the table – yummy mashed potatoes contained in a stainless steel pot.

Reflecting on it later I realized, “Isn’t that what life is about?” 

We do everything we can to be healthy – eat organically, take supplements, get rid of EMFs in the home.  Then suddenly, someone in our home gets a cancer diagnosis.

The proverbial pot on the table.

Or we work hard to teach our children to love the Lord and we plan play dates with other families who have Christian values. Then suddenly, one of our precious flock gets an eating disorder. Or runs away. Or is a constant source of strife to the family.

The proverbial pot on the table.

Often times despite all our good efforts, God allows something in our life to remind us that He is the One in control – not us. It’s easy to start trusting in ourselves but God doesn’t want that. He wants us to trust in Him and not lean on our own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5&6)

Then there is a second life lesson from the unexpected.

Even though the pot was a disruption to my Christmasy table, what was inside the pot was good! Those mashed potatoes were still yummy despite the presentation of them in a common old pot.

It’s the same with the unexpected challenges/trials in our lives.

A serious illness, a wayward child, the lost job – all seem to be “bad” things we want gone from our life. I get that.

And, yes, God wants that wayward child to return to Him full-force, but doesn’t promise that that will happen.  But He DOES promise to use each thing in our lives for good – to those of us who love Him and are called according to His purposes. (Romans 8:28-29)

There is one more lesson I learned that day.

When I saw the pot on the table, I quickly moved it to the kitchen counter so it wouldn’t be in the photo I was preparing to take. 

(Full disclosure: I had a friend photo-shop a picture of my stainless steel pot into the Christmas dinner image above because I truly didn’t take a photo with the unwanted pot!)

You see, I wanted our Christmas dinner to look . . . well . . . perfect, to everyone I showed the photo to.

I didn’t want there to be a stainless steel pot in the middle of the table because that would be a non-perfect view of our Christmas dinner.

Isn’t that the way with our life? We want the “not-so-good” stuff edited out of what others see of our lives. 

But God wants us to be transparent – to share our highs and our lows – to be truthful in seeking help and sharing prayer requests. That is what makes us real and able to help others in similar situations.

So, what “pots” are in your life right now? 

Remember to reflect on how God is in control and has allowed that as part of your life story.

Remember that there is good in that challenge being in your life (if you love God and are called according to His purpose.)

And finally, remember to be transparent with others like I mention in this blogpost as that is often how God opens the way for us to help others suffering with the same challenges. 

Share in the comments what unexpected pot is in your life right now.