Falling Through the Cracks

From head to toe my son dresses in Air Jordan.  He even displays a life sized cardboard cutout (handed down from his dad) in his room.  No surprise when he decided to design his birthday cake with Air Jordan.

Out I went to purchase a chocolate cake mix and ingredients to create the icing.  The week quickly filled with places to be and things to do.  I did not get around to baking the cake until the day planned to decorate.  Baked early in the morning, the cake sat out to dry enough to withstand the icing. 

Hours passed and into the evening I whipped up the icing.  Being homemade, the consistency remained creamy.  I proceeded to icing the cake, now on a big platter rather than the spring form pan used in baking.  It looked delicious and smelled even better.  The finishing touches came after my husband arrived.  His steady hand outlined and filled the image of Air Jordan spanning across the cake.  Then, he placed the number 23 near the bottom.  It looked great.  My son was impressed. 

Our work here is done, time to sleep.  Alarm rings and I head to the kitchen to admire the creation.  Uh-Oh!  Due to the moist cake, creamy icing and heavy colored icing creating the image; Jordan fell through the cracks – LITERALLY!  Sitting on a huge platter with lots of room around the cake to move, it moved indeed. 

Luckily, I rise before anyone else in the house.  Luckily, I hung on to the leftover icing.  Luckily, I did not freak out and give up on the matter.  I will not lie, at first I was thinking of how I could break it to my son that his party will have no cake.  But, plan B needed to come into the picture.  Wait, there was no plan B!

I rolled up my sleeves, pulled out the leftover icing and began repair.  I placed the cake back into the spring form pan to press on the sides and connect the cracks back together slightly.  All was going well.  Then I decided to begin covering the cake with more white icing and recreate the design.  Well, the red Air Jordan streaked the white icing too much to cover.  So, I removed the icing, used red food coloring and now we have a red cake!  While working on the repair a skeptic appeared.  My husband became upset at the image due to his hard work the night before now under construction.  I quickly explained plan B and he decided to comply. 

In the freezer the cake went after red icing now covered the cracked cake.  Later, my husband formed a new Air Jordan in black icing and placed his number at the bottom again.  The cake looked better than before and my son was super impressed with this new creation (he wanted a red cake to begin with)!

Funny, how plan B often turns out even greater than the original.  Thankfully, in life a plan B exists.  As a sweet baby created uniquely in our mother’s womb, life begins.  Big plans lay ahead the moment we arrive.  Our Designer holds all the right tools to build a beautiful life.  Not yet in a relationship with Him, we decide the design for life.  We move in directions before the ground can withstand traffic.  We build the path with worldly ‘things’ and design life based on our plan.  We allow the world to place the finishing touches on this plan, sit back and admire the ‘work’ done. 

Years pass living in such a manner until THAT day comes.  Our eyes open.  Uh-Oh!  Due to the inconsistency of this world, disappointment from others and burdens heavily laden on our shoulders; our life fell through the cracks – LITERALLY!  We sit alone on a path filled with potholes, cracks extending in every direction, afraid to move.  Plan B anyone?

We realize what needs to be done.  We run quickly back to the One Who has not given up on us.  Our Creator holds us tightly in His arms, beginning repair of this broken life.  He covers all the sin/brokenness by the blood of His only Son, recreating our life.  Along the way, skeptics come in and try to destroy this construction project, leading in the direction of giving up.  We simply explain to others the transformation and say, “He is not finished with me yet.” 

God takes messy lives and creates a beautiful new creation.  He can and He will do that for you, no matter the circumstances. . .will you meet Him at the cross today? 

Keep praying harder than the devil can work.  

Sheree Craig