The Unexpected

Have things ever turned out differently than you had thought they would? If so, you’re not alone, because I am right there with you. For instance, I planned to make a dark chocolate cake with ganache, and topped with chocolate mousse and strawberries for my mom’s birthday. Yum! Minus the strawberries, I made this combination last summer, and it had been a success.

As the cake was baking yesterday, the unthinkable happened: the cake collapsed in the center. When I saw it, my heart sunk (much like the center of the cake). After some creative thinking, I thought of a way to disguise the disaster. I then pulled the mousse out of the refrigerator, and to my horror, I discovered it had frozen. I softened it and tried beating it, and then…it started getting firmer. My plan to pipe little peaks of mousse around the edge of the cake seemed impossible, but I decided to try anyway. I was right to be pessimistic; instead of fluffy peaks, I ended up with heavy globs. Plan B was to pipe strands of the mousse in concentric circles all across the top of the cake. When I stopped to observe my work, I was absolutely mortified (and I died laughing). If I had planned it, I could not have made a more disgusting looking cake. Let’s just say…the mousse resembled something other than chocolate, and I quickly covered the whole top of the cake with sliced strawberries. The cake looked nothing like what I had envisioned.

Sometimes, life can take turns we don’t expect, and it can end up looking unlike anything we would have ever imagined. 

I highly doubt Abraham ever planned to leave everything that was comfortable and familiar, in order to reach an unknown land. I doubt he expected to be 100 before Sarah finally had the child God promised. I doubt he expected to be tested by being asked to sacrifice his son. 

I doubt Joseph ever expected to be sold into slavery by the brothers he had dreamed bowed down to him. I doubt he expected to be unjustly accused and sent to prison. I doubt he expected to rule Egypt directly under the Pharaoh. 

I doubt David ever expected to be anointed King. I doubt he ever expected that he would ever have to feign madness in the hometown of the giant he had killed. I doubt he ever expected to have a power struggle with his son. 

Sometimes, the unexpected, unplanned, and yes, even the unwanted happens. Our response to the unexpected depends on where we have placed our hope and our trust. If our hope is in our plans, in people, in our talents, or our resources, we will likely be disappointed, fearful, bewildered, or even devastated when the unexpected happens. But when we are surrendered to God, and have put our hope and trust in Him, we will not be shaken in the face of the unexpected. When our hope is in God, we can be confident through the unexpected, knowing that God sees the bigger picture and has a plan, no matter what we may see or feel at the time.