Bittersweet

What does that word mean to you? For real...stop and think about what the word bittersweet means to you.

This is a word that I have trouble defining. It makes no sense to me. How can something be bitter but yet sweet at the same time?

So I had to break down the word to help me understand it. What does bitter mean?
Strong and sharp in taste: having a sharp strong unpleasant taste such as the taste of orange peel; resentful: angry and resentful difficult to accept: mentally painful, or very hard to accept.

Ever tasted anything that was bitter? What was your immediate reaction? To spit that junk out...right?

Ever been bitter about a situation...towards a certain somebody?

Ever had something happen to you that was hard to accept?

If you experienced any of the aforementioned things, you have experienced bitter.
So what about sweet, what does it mean?

Having the taste or flavor characteristic of sugar, honey, etc.; producing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is not bitter, sour, or salt; not rancid or stale; fresh: not salt or salted; pleasing to the ear; making a delicate, pleasant, or agreeable sound; musical.
So bittersweet is something that is sharp in taste or a feeling of being angry, resentful, difficult to accept...but at the same time it is delicate, pleasant to the ear, taste like honey or sugar?

What in the world!?

So let's bring this to reality!

What would be an example of bittersweet?

Finally getting that tooth pulled...hate the pain and the trip to the dentist, but love the fact that it will soon be taken care of?

Practicing an instrument for what seems like months in a row...non-stop, only to knock it out of the park at a performance or a review?

Let's dig deeper!

Finally giving up smoking, knowing the cravings are going to be intense, but sticking with it because you know in the long run it is worth it.

Giving up drinking Cokes or coffee because your body had become dependent on the caffiene.

Let's get personal!!!

Watching the people you have been training rise up and begin to take the ball and run with it, even though you may not be around to see them score the touchdown!!

Watching the people you have been mentoring get excited about ideas they have been having and implementing those ideas, and you get excited, even though you won't be there to guide them or walk them through it!!

Watching a group of people you love dearly get excited about change...and that change is directly related to you!!!

That is what the last week has been for me...bittersweet!

Bitter because somethings right now are hard and difficult to accept, sweet because the sound I am hearing is pleasing to the ear and watching leaders lead...is more satisfying than chocolate, and if you know me well enough you know I love the taste of chocolate!!!

So, what is bittersweet in your life right now?

What's bitter about it?

What's sweet?

And more importantly, where's God in the middle of this bittersweet moment?

Even though my mind tells me God is in another galaxy,

My heart tells me he is with me,

Right next to me,

Everyday!

So God, you see the bitterness, you know the taste it has, because I have expressed it to you a lot lately. But take what is bitter, and remove it from my heart...so that the only thing that remains is your presence and spirit which is very much sweet, very much pleasing to the ear.