The Ingredients

"Jim, will you cook with me?"

"What are you making?"

"Lasagna," I replied.

"OK, what do you want me to do?"

Jim got my largest red dutch oven out and we began to add ingredients to the pot.  We browned sweet sausage and ground beef.  We dropped in the diced onions, garlic, carrots and celery and sauteed them for a bit.  I opened great big cans of diced tomatoes and tomato puree.  Jim poured them into the pan, trying to avoid the splash.  He stirred the rich brew.  A wonderful smell rose up out of the red pot as everything began to bubble.  It was time for spice--basil, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper were added.  Jim and I each tasted the sauce as we went along.  We agreed that we had created a fine mixture but it wasn't as thick as we would like.

"Maybe we need to add tomato paste," was Jim's suggestion.

"I think you're right." 

Minutes later we added the thick paste to the sauce.

"Perfect."

We moved on to layering noodles, tomato sauce and the cheese sauce.  This is going to be great, we both announced.

Over the last months and weeks sweet and sad experiences have come into my life.  As stand-alone events, those hard situations feel crushing but peppered with God's grace they become part of the mixture of my life.  The sweet and sad balance each other and add depth to my life.  (I would never eat a raw onion but added to the sauce it adds flavor and depth.)

In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes it says, "there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens...a time to weep and a time to laugh."   All the ingredients are necessary for a rich life.