Tacos Al Pastor {two ways}

Lately I’ve been thinking about the curveballs life throws at you. We have all experienced/will experience these setbacks in some form or fashion. Sometimes they sneak up on us when we least expect it, when you feel like you’ve got it all under control. Sometimes these curveballs are a series of truly devastating events which leave you wondering, “Why me?” or “What else can go wrong?” Maybe it’s a breakup that leaves you feeling breathless, or an unexpected diagnosis; perhaps you’ve lost your job, a loved one, or maybe you just feel lost, lonely, and directionless. No matter what it is you are going through, it sucks. It sucks because it can feel isolating. No one understands unless they’ve endured the very same hardship. It sucks because if one more person tells you, “Everything happens for a reason!” you might just give them a reason to have to comfort themselves with that very same, trite axiom. At first, we are pissed. We are heartbroken. We feel like we’ll never get over what is happening. And that’s totally ok. But then, eventually, we need to move on so we can grow from these challenges. But how?

While I would love to classify myself as a glass-half-full kind of person, it’s not my nature. I am a realist, through and through. I know the world needs both types of personalities to go ’round but I envy people, like my father, who see the world through rose-colored lenses. When life throws them a curveball, they take it and they run with it. For me, it takes effort, yes, but mostly it takes prayer. I have to pray like mad to believe that my setback, small or large, truly is part of the Lord’s bigger plan for me, and there is a reason for it. It will make me stronger in the end.  I have to pray to give up the control I [think I] have on my life because, quite honestly, I don’t want it. It’s exhausting and completely futile all at once. This is an everyday battle for me, but I am so thankful for it. I am thankful because it propels me towards conscious, desperate prayer, and that is a beautiful thing. So today, on this Sunday afternoon, as these Tacos Al Pastor are effortlessly simmering away in the slow-cooker, I encourage you to savor the small stuff. Whether it’s a moment gathered around the dinner table with loved ones or a heart-to-heart with the One who created you, knows everything about you, and loves you anyways, I pray that you may know the sweet freedom in a life surrendered. ¡Bendiciones y Buen Provecho!

Hebrews 10:35-36 “Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” 

 

 

*gluten-free if using corn tortillas or lettuce wrap