Lessons from Chocolate

“My mama always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’”

- Forrest Gump

Forrest gave us that now-famous wisdom in the 1994 movie, but life could be compared to a box of chocolates in a lot of other ways, too:

• It’s sweet, but sometimes sticky and messy.
• Sometimes you taste the dark and bitter or the tough and chewy. But other times you get the soft and syrupy or the light and fluffy.
• You might not know what you’re going to get, but dive in anyway. Taste and see.
• It’s healthy to think outside the box.
• And life, like a box of chocolates, is better when shared.

One side note: You don’t always know what you’re going to get in a box of chocolates, but sometimes you do. Sometimes little clues – like a certain color, shape or texture – tells you what kind of chocolate you’re about to get. With chocolates and life, experience gives us clues.

And often the Creator (of the chocolates or life) includes a chart inside the box, a model to follow. So if you ponder that guide closely, you’ll find what you’re looking for, exactly what you desire.

What has a box of chocolates taught you?

Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.