BITTERSWEET INGREDIENTS (You Need Them. You Really Need Them)

If anybody tells you that whatever you're going through today is preparing you for something bigger tomorrow, please, believe him. I want to add, that even when you don't personally think it could be possible, especially by judging with your insurmountable predicaments, still believe him if he says so. This is a natural truth, and there is no respect for persons in its fulfilment. Actually, it is those who believe and work towards it that enjoy it. Let me clarify it for you with one important observation I have made over the years...

My mother's only daughter is a baker. When I was young, I used to wonder how she got bread out of flour. Usually, she made me escort her to the flour mill, and I saw how the flour was forced through the mill. They would occasionally sprinkle water on it to make it soft and smooth and elastic. She also added nutmeg and yeast to it while in the mill. The flour suffered.

After milling it, the flour would be transformed into a large blob, and then she'd take it home to knead it. I observed in the process, that she would be cutting and moulding it into different sizes and shapes while kneading. And the flour suffered it all. Later, as if it isn't enough, she'd heat the oven, and the soft leavened flour would be pushed inside. And then, the oven would be closed. Heat! Unbearable heat!

That is how the flour suffers and goes through many tough times. Can you compare it to your own situation there, dear one? It is similar, very similar. But listen to this: the reason why I told you to believe anybody who tells you there're better days ahead, is what happens to the bread soon after few minutes in the oven. We suddenly smell a mouthwatering aroma, and it is the bread! Then you and I would be planning on what breakfast we'd add. The bread has become beneficial to human being. It has become worthwhile.

And this is exactly what I mean. We would have to go through a challenging lot. We should bear heavy burdens. Even sometimes, we'd need to suffer bodily pains (hunger, thirst, even sicknesses). In our Christian lives, we should see trials and persecutions. In our academic and business pursuits, we should suffer failures. All these are the milling, nutmegs and yeast, the kneading and cutting, and even the heat we'll need to bring out our worth. Without them, we can't make progress. But believe me, the end is always sweeter.

ISAAC ESSOUN