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Life Is Like an Onion

by Anita 1 Comment

As 2015 draws to a close, I am reminded of Momma’s famous line from “Forrest Gump”:

Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”

But if I were to come up with some proverbial life-food analogy of my own, I’d say,

“Life is like an onion.”

If lived well, its many layers get peeled away slowly, gently, timely…just one leaf at a time. A few tears will be shed, and a few surprises – perhaps some bruising inside – may be discovered along the way. Even so, a good onion, after surviving some heat, will ultimately be sweet, not bitter, spicy, or sour.

When I look back at my life, and especially at 2015, I see that I was a carefully tended onion, finally ripe for the picking. Layer by layer, God’s been peeling away the outer skins (appearances), the fronts, the worldly “band-aids,” and exposing the baggage, the flaws, the fears and insecurities. I won’t lie. Some of it, no – much of it, has been painful and uncomfortable. And more than a few tears were shed along the way. But above all, it has been liberating and healing.

face in hands

We’re still not done with all the “peeling” – God and me. But for the first time in my life, I’m genuinely excited for when we get done. Why? ‘Cause for the first time, I’m 100% confident that the core of this old onion – my heart, my soul, my innermost being – will be found to be good. pure. blameless. holy even. And not because of anything I ever was or am or did or will do. But simply because of what Jesus has done for me. He’s made me presentable – no, more than presentable  – perfect, before the Father. There is no need, ever, to cover my face in shame, shake my head in disappointment, or hang my head in hopelessness.

When He died on the cross for all my mistakes, flaws, failures – past, present and future – it was a one-time, clean-sweep, no taking back kind of deal.

No conditions.

No “so long as you don’t do this or that.”

No “so long as you never slip up again.”

No “so long as everyone else thinks you’re a good person…or good enough.”

Nope. Amazingly, anyone and everyone who genuinely admits that: (1) they can’t do right by God on their own, (2) Jesus, who loved us enough to leave his divinity behind in heaven to come rescue us, did right by God for us when he died to pay the penalty for our sins, and (3) we are justified before God and reconciled to Him once and for all only by faith in Jesus – is invited into a most fulfilling friendship with God during this life here on earth and into blissful eternity with God afterwards.

What’s more, that invitation, or gift, can never be stolen, forfeited, or retracted. What happy assurance! I can’t think of a better way to celebrate and welcome a new year than with that great old hymn from 1873:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight!
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, all is at rest!
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

I praise you and thank you for a tough but blessed 2015, Lord. Can’t wait to see what you’ll peel and reveal in 2016.

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Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: eternal life, faith, freedom, heaven, life, salvation

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Comments

  1. mama mia says

    January 1, 2016 at 8:46 am

    Awesome. Love this so much!

    Reply

Ready Or Not, Here I Come.

Classy 'n sassy, flawed but forgiven,
I'm a bit of a mess...but teachable, yes.
You may just laugh, you may just cry,
"Oh no she di-int! Say wha? And why?"
'Cause life is short and sh*t gets real.
So let's be real. We got a deal?

Catch up next week?

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anitacatchmybreath

anitacatchmybreath
Gotcha where I wantcha; now I’m gonna eatcha! Lo Gotcha where I wantcha; now I’m gonna eatcha! Love bites = my love language #scarymommyconfessions
These days facemask + lashes = dressing up. #covi These days facemask + lashes = dressing up.  #covidlife
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Except that it’s a fluffy round bunny in your arms. 
Well, and the bunny isn’t even yours. 
And....you’re still a baby yourself. So, no.
In other words, it’s Nothing like that moment.
Outdoor walks and the sights and sounds of nature Outdoor walks and the sights and sounds of nature help maintain my peace...and sanity these days.  What’s helping you?
Blown away by the poem written and recited by exce Blown away by the poem written and recited by exceptional 22yo Amanda Gorman at Biden’s inauguration this morning.
"THE HILL WE CLIMB" Poem Transcript:
Dr. Biden, Madam Vice President, Mr. Emhoff, Americans, and the world.
When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never ending shade?
The loss we carry, a sea. We must wade. 
We've graved the belly of the beast.
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace.
In the norms and notions of what just is, isn't always justice.
And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow we do it.
Somehow we've weathered and witnessed a nation that isn't broken, but simply unfinished.
We, the successors of a country and the time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president only to find herself reciting for one.
And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine, but that doesn't mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect.
We are striving to forge our union with purpose.
To compose a country, committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man.
And so we lift our gaze, not to what stands between us, but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else say, this is true.
That even as we grieved, we grew.
That even as we hurt, we hoped. 
That even as we tired, we tried that will forever be tied together victorious.
Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division.
Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid
If we're to live up to our own time, then victory won't lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we've made.
That is the promise to glade the hill we climb.
If only we dare it's because being American is more than a pride we inherit.
It's the past we step into and how we repair it.
We close the divide because we know to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside
Reposting @thejoywarrior. She called it. This is Reposting @thejoywarrior.  She called it. This is nothing less than terrorism.  By U.S. citizens. On their own Capitol. To protest the lawful, democratic ousting of a President who can not acknowledge facts or truth, or accept defeat, or abide by - much less uphold - the law and our Constitution. God, please humble and hold our nation accountable, that we might be blessed once more. NO ONE can “MAGA” but You, God. You, who desires goodness, humility, and brotherly love among us all.
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