Spoiled Rotten

Recently I had the opportunity to experience one of the many facets of God in a new light. A friend and I had gone out for a bite to eat. We looked over the menus and gave the waiter our orders. Upon receiving our plates, I realized that I had ordered the wrong thing. "Duped again!" I exclaimed, as I found that the hamburger with mushrooms I thought I'd ordered was actually a portobello mushroom disguised as a burger. (Apparently 'portobello burgers' are a thing out here and it's customary for them be placed under the 'burgers' section on menus. This is the second time in the past year that I have made this mistake, hence the reason for my exclamation).

Now, I'm not going to lie, I have a fairly decent track-record of making comments if I get food delivered to me that is not how I ordered it (i.e. I order a sandwich without tomato and it comes with a tomato -_-), but then I just pick off what I don't like and carry on my merry way and eat the food. So I fully intended to eat my mushroom 'burger' even though it was not what I wanted, because it was my fault, I'd ordered the wrong thing. And, due to having made the same mistake previously, I knew that the portobello burgers didn't actually taste too bad, so I was perfectly content to eat the 'burger'.

However, upon my exclamation and a brief explanation of what had just happened, my friend was like, "Don't eat that!" So then the following conversation took place:

Me (quite hungry, and on the verge of entering hangry territory): "Why not? It's my mistake. I ordered the wrong thing. It's not a big deal." "But that's not what you wanted." "Yeah, but it's what I ordered." "But it's not what you want. We'll send it back."

So my friend summoned our waiter back over (which took awhile, because he really wasn't a very attentive waiter), briefly explained that I had ordered the wrong thing and wanted a real burger, and my food disappeared. Moments later, a hamburger appeared before me. And it. Was. Delectable. And not only was it exactly what I wanted, but it was what I needed. Protein comes in many forms, yes, and though I needed protein and the mushroom would've sufficed, it was the red meat that my body truly needed.

Now, I bet you think I'm here to brag on my friend for what he did. Indeed, it blew me away. I mean, who actually sends their food back to the kitchen? Let alone when it was your own fault you got the wrong food? And I am incredibly blessed (and thankful) to have someone who's looking out for my best interests, even when I'm content with my own mistakes. However, the real hero of this story is Jesus.

Explanation: Jesus speaks to me in a lot of different ways, generally through music or the weather. And sometimes he speaks to me through food (there's a whole story about cookies and ice cream cake that I experienced about five years ago that I'll share if you want to know). Yeap, food. Or at least circumstances surrounding food. As was the case in this instance. My friend was Jesus, the dinner the many different things I desire in life. I know what I want and I set out to obtain it, but when I order incorrectly, and I get as I ordered, too often I'm just content to settle with what I've been dealt. I don't seek what I'm really after.

But Jesus is not okay with that. He knows our hearts better than we do, and isn't satisfied until we are. So when we settle for what we know is good, but not exactly what we know we want (and is often times Jesus telling us what He knows is best), then God will interfere. He's not about letting us settle for second best. He wants to give us the very best. Because He knows it's not only what we want, but it's what we need.

It was all symbolic in that situation, of course, but the point is quite clear: Why settle for what we think is good when God wants to spoil us rotten? We are His children after all.