You can learn a lot from going to the market. The longer I live the more I learn just from going there with my eyes, ears, and heart open. The latest bit of wisdom that blessed me there came just the other day. A young mother was walking with her little child while pushing a cart loaded down with fruits and vegetables. The tiny toddler was complaining the whole time about how he hated all of these foods and wanted some candy. When his mother refused he began to throw a fit. His crying, kicking, and screaming were getting louder and louder until his mom firmly said, “If you don’t behave and eat your fruits and vegetables then you won’t be getting any of the homemade cookies your grandma brought over when we get home.” With these words the crying stopped and the child’s face brightened with an angelic smile. I could hear the pure delight in his voice when he said, “Oh Boy! Grandma made cookies.”

I smiled then and realized that even as adults we are often like that toddler. God is holding our hands and leading us on a path of incredible growth in learning, goodness, love, and joy. The trouble is that often we are kicking and screaming all the way. We don’t want what is really good for us. We want what we think will be good for us right now. We can’t see those delicious, homemade cookies God has waiting for us, because we are too focused on that piece of hard candy in front of our eyes.

The rewards of love, joy, peace, happiness, goodness, and delight that God has waiting for us are far greater than we know. We just have to stop kicking and screaming and see that He is taking us where we need to go. We just have to enjoy our fruits and vegetables and know that even sweeter things are to come. We just have to hold our Father’s hand and trust him to lead us through this life and back home again.

Joseph J. Mazzella joecool@wirefire.com