Cheese Slices vs. Real Cheese

When I was a young lass, my mom was a health nut. We never had alphagetti, cookies from Mr. Christie or Kraft Dinner in the house. While all my friends were enjoying Corn Pops for breakfast, my brothers and I were choking down granola. I would beg my mom to buy cheese slices and the answer was always “Absolutely not. It’s just a bunch of oil and preservatives. It’s not even REAL!” I have heard that before they add the orange colour to processed cheese spread, it’s actually grey. Mmmm . . . appetizing.

As I got older, I realized that grilled cheese made with cheese slices actually leave a lot to be desired when compared to their counterparts made with real cheese. Cheese slices try very hard to be cheese. They are the same colour, shape, share some of the same ingredients but cheese slices can NEVER be as satisfying as real cheese.

Have you ever met a woman who appears to have it all together? Her hair and makeup are always perfectly done, nails perfectly manicured. She rolls out of bed looking like a team of stylists worked on her for a magazine cover. Her house is immaculate and there’s always a pie in the oven on the off-chance a visitor drops by. She never gets flustered, angry, nervous, sad, lonely, insecure. There’s no social situation that superwoman can’t handle! She never yells at her children or gets annoyed with her husband. Whenever you ask how she is, the answer is “fine”, “great”, “SUPERB”!

It can be tempting to admire and even want to emulate this kind of woman. But the truth is, no one has it all together all the time. We are all broken . . . we all struggle with temptation . . . we all hurt . . . we are all in need of grace. WHY DO WE PRETEND WE DON’T NEED JESUS? Keeping up appearances is tiring . . . dishonest . . . unattractive (much like processed cheese spread before the colour is added). How excited are you to pour out your heart to someone who’s never willing to admit they have any problems or emotions or hurts? Personally, my excitement level is somewhere in the negative integers. It’s not very satisfying . . . kind of like a cheese slice.

On the other hand, how refreshing would it be to share a situation with someone who responds with “you’re not alone . . . I’ve wrestled with this . . . I’ve experienced this emotion . . . I’ve seen God’s grace in this situation”. It reminds me of this verse: “An honest answer is like a warm hug” Proverbs 24:26 (The Message). What would it be like to laugh and cry and everything in between with each other as we walk along the path of life?

This week in our girls’ small group, we took turns talking about some really tough stuff. When someone shared their heart we did not say “well have more faith” or “turn that frown upside down” and move on to the pumpkin bread. We listened, we sat silently when words failed, we cried, we prayed. But I will tell you this: with tear-stained cheeks, red eyes and hearts on their sleeves, those women never looked more beautiful. In their brokenness and honesty, they were attractive and refreshing and REAL.

Brenda

Brenda is a wife and mother to three great kids. She leads a woman's small group and is a worship leader in her church.