THE WEDDING CAKE ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY
One of the many pieces of advice we received before our wedding was to save the top tier of your wedding cake and eat and eat it on your first anniversary. We had a tiny little freezer. For one full year, this box of wedding cake sat in our freezer, denying us room to freeze anything else. We would often want to buy some ice cream, or freeze leftovers, but alas, there was no room due to the precious wedding topper.
Finally, the moment of celebration came. We took out the cake, opened the box, and cut into the beautiful cake, only to discover that the top tier was just a decoration - a round cut-out of cardboard decorated with icing! It was beautiful on the outside, but underneath, it was just cardboard!
Our lives are like that. When things are going well, when our lives are tidy and neat, we can cover up the unsavory things that rest in the depth of our soul. But when troubles come, when the unexpected or unwelcome crowd into our lives, the icing is removed and we see what really lies beneath. Or truthfulness under difficult or trying circumstances reveals what is truly at the heart of our CHARACTER.
From a sermon by Paul Barreca, What Lies Beneath A Lie, 5/19/2012