SURPRISE!

“Every problem has a gift for you in its hand.”
Richard Bach

Oh, sure, everyone wants the toy in the cereal or the Cracker Jacks but who’s really checking out the prize in a pound of liver? The benefits in the liver aren’t decreased because it’s harder to swallow or leaves a bad taste in your mouth!

I hate liver.  I hate for people to tell me how good liver is for me and how much my life will improve if I just embrace the liver and I especially hate when people tell me that liver really isn’t that bad if I just hold my mouth the right way.  Frankly, when I’m handed liver, for my own good, I will attempt to barter for the Cracker Jacks, not because of the popcorn but for those two or three candy coated peanuts that keep me coming back and, of course, the prize.  I have many situations and people in my life that might be considered liver(ish).  Every person has some type of liver circumstance in their life but not everyone seems to appreciate the benefits because they’re too busy anticipating how bad it’s going to be or complaining about the bad taste left in their mouths.  Always remember that when you’re in the middle of a liver situation you should balance it with lots of ice cream!

One day when I was complaining about my childhood, a very good friend asked me, “Then why did you pick those parents?”  No matter your religious persuasion and without arguing the truth of the question, you have to admit that it’s a great question and makes you think in a new way, which I always find refreshing.  Why did I pick them?  What were the gifts that my parents gave me?  It presented me with a new perspective on every aspect of my life.  I was no longer a victim of my circumstances but a participant in framing my own reality.  I picked my parents to develop deep empathy and compassion.

I am a cancer survivor but I am not one of those heroic types.  I’m the needle phobic wimp, trying desperately to bargain my way out of a diagnosis and treatment type.  I do not put on a beatific smile and saintly airs, gently gazing into space and contemplating my strength and virtue…nope, not me!  But, on the other side of my tears, fears, panic and whining, I have discovered unexpected treasures.  Why did I “pick” cancer?  Cancer made me challenge what I’m really capable of doing, it made me focus on what’s important and taught me to take naps without apologizing.

I have a red faced man in my life with bulging eyes and pulsing neck veins that likes to bully me.  He invades my space, talks behind my back and yells at me.  Now, this is a very cleverly disguised gift, wrapped in a garbage bag and smelling a lot like liver.  Why did I “pick” him?  So I would stand up tall, believe in myself and realize that most things in life just shouldn’t be taken so seriously. 

Victor Frankel, being tortured in a concentration camp during World War II, realized that his captors could take his life but they had absolutely no control over his attitude.  They could not put a dent in his spirit.  I would think that finding buried treasure as a Jew in Nazi Germany during WWII would really be a challenge but story after story tells how it was done. 

Recognizing gifts is not positive thinking.  It can actually be pretty stressful trying to be positive all the time.  Discovering the gifts hidden in the unlikely places is free, spontaneous and totally authentic, coming from deep in the heart and always includes a large dollop of gratitude.

“I am convinced that, except in a few extraordinary cases, one form or another of an unhappy childhood is essential to the formation of exceptional gifts.”                                                        Thornton Wilder

NOT A LIVER RECIPE (there’s your gift from me)

7Up Cake

1 box pineapple or orange cake mix                          1 box pineapple pudding mix

¾ C cooking oil                                                            4 eggs

10 oz of 7Up                                                               

Mix ingredients together well.  Pour into three greased and floured 8-9 inch cake pans.  Bake in 350 degree oven until cake is done.

Frosting:

1 C sugar                                                                     1 C coconut

1 C crushed pineapple                                                            1 stick butter

2 eggs                                                                          1 T flour

Combine all ingredients except coconut in saucepan and cook until smooth.  Add coconut and spread between layers of cake.