A Box of Chocolates

“Momma always said: ’Life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.’”

This was a famous line by Forrest Gump, played by Tom Hanks in the movie Forrest Gump (1994).

Forrest was a simple minded man with a low IQ but lived a life full of adventure without much worry. Despite of the hardships that he encountered, he persevered because he was raised to see life as a daily surprise.

Indeed, life is full of surprises, just like a box of assorted flavored chocolates, you will know how each piece actually tastes only when you take a bite.

I once read from an inspirational book that I have to start each day the “night” before. Since then, I have been practicing that most of the time. Before calling off each day in the office, I make sure that everything is prepared for the next day. As I wake up, my first convo with God is “Lord, this is your day and I am yours.” But even though how prepared I can be, I will never know what is in the day until I have bitten and tasted the “chocolate” for the day.

A day can turn out to be sour when our plans don’t succeed, crunchy when someone tries to stretch our patience, chewy when we need to find solutions for unexpected problems, spicy when a friend talks behind our back, salty when we have a “fight” with someone we love, bitter when an unpleasant crisis arises, sweet when someone makes us happy, and it could be as heavenly as coffee when we do something successfully!

A day can be as good or as bad as it can be when we are in this sinful and finite world. While God may allow evil and unpleasant things to happen under his permissive/moral will, we can be assured that above and beyond this is His overarching sovereign will.

Our awareness of His sovereignty which includes His omnipresence (all present), omniscience (all knowing) and omnipotence (all powerful), with the divine purpose of displaying His majestic glory through us should give us a sense of hope, strength and confidence in the unknown. Without it we have no purpose, no hope and no reason to live.

Just like Forrest Gump, let’s be excited to see each day as a surprise. Like Jeremiah in Lamentations and King David in Psalm, let’s face each day with the assurance of God’s unchanging love, unending mercies, and unstoppable power.

May we lay in bed with peace every night and awaken with hope and strength for any chocolate-covered flavors each day.

Lamentations 3:22-23 English Standard Version (ESV)

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;[a] his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Psalm 46:10 English Standard Version (ESV)

10 “Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!