The Surprising Lesson I Learned from Cooked Chicken

This happened a few years ago, probably five or six years ago. 

It was with one of my daughter's boyfriends. And he was over at our house. I came home from work, so this has probably been like eight years, ten years ago, maybe even ten. So anyway, I came home from work, and he was cooking a piece of chicken on the stove in a pan, and the chicken was super thick; you know what I'm talking about? 

There are some breasts that you get that are like super thick. He was cooking it just in oil with some salt and pepper, which is fine. I always encourage anybody at my house to make themselves at home. So that was fine. He had gotten it out of the freezer and was cooking this chicken, and it was still not completely thawed. He had started the process before I got home. When I arrived, he had the outside of it was overcooked, thick, and challenging, and the inside was completely raw. Yet there he was, standing at the stove, turning it and trying to act like he knew what he was doing. 

I took one look at it, and I was like, I know that's not going to work. So I took another piece of chicken, thawed it out, cut it in half so it was thinner and so it laid flat. And then I took his sad-looking piece of chicken out of the pan and I said, "try this." He looked at me and he said, "I'm so sorry for wasting that chicken, and you're gonna have to throw it away now." He looked really upset, because he thought he had wasted this chicken. And I said, "oh, it's no big deal. I can just cut this up. I'll cut it up and fry it and we'll put it in some chicken soup or something and no big deal."

At that moment, he surprised me. He grabbed me and just pulled me into this really tight hug, and he started crying and he said, "thank you." Come to find out it's not okay to waste food at his house. If he had done something like that at his house, there would've been some sort of punishment. So for me to be like, oh, that's no big deal. I can do something with that was a whole new way of being for him. He was so grateful. That's why we call it the chicken incident, because it always brings tears to my eyes. It was a very memorable moment where there was just a moment of forgiveness that he needed. More than the chicken, he really needed to be forgiven, even though mistakes are no big deal. No forgiveness was needed for me I could still use the chicken.  

I had the skill to use that chicken in another way. So the only reason that there was a problem was because he was inadequate. He didn't have the culinary skill I've developed over many years of practice. So he felt like he had made a huge mistake and he needed forgiveness. 

I wanted to start out with that story to kind of illustrate this principle that I want to share with you that I learned. Today in my Daily GPS, I got up this morning and I was feeling very in need of forgiveness. I was feeling shame. I was feeling guilt. It was because there were a couple things that I noticed when I sat down at my desk this morning. 

I noticed my inspired shortcut from yesterday, and you'll hear more about inspired shortcuts, I'm sure throughout this month, but my inspired shortcut yesterday was to create this training series for my clients in my One Will Creation course. And for whatever reason I had written that down. Then I got busy throughout the day and somehow in my mind, my inspired shortcut was to create a blog post. I never, for whatever reason, came back and looked at my list. So I sat down this morning, and I was thought, 'oh my gosh, I did the wrong inspired shortcut. I didn't even do the right thing that God had given me.' 

Obviously God's will was for me to make that post yesterday and to get started on these Facebook lives. That was my true inspired shortcut. God just kept me away from my office so I couldn't look at my list and and be focused on the wrong thing. But I felt a lot of guilt and shame for not following through with the inspired shortcut He gave me yesterday morning. The other thought that I had was I said something to my daughter yesterday, kind of off the cuff. She was headed out the door and I just said it. She left and I found out later that she had called my other daughter she was upset about it, and she didn't feel confident to talk to me about it. So I was feeling some guilt and shame about that, too. 

Because of those two things, I was feeling in need of forgiveness. I know as we go through the holidays, there's going to be times when we have great plans, but we don't get them done. Or we say something just because we're in a hurry or whatever, and then later we can look at that and be like, 'oh my gosh, I feel so much guilt and shame for doing that.' 

I want to go back to that story that I just told you. God can use anything. He has very good culinary skills. He can take anything, no matter how charred or dry it looks to me. He can take that and make some really good soup out of it. He can do something great because He brings all things together and makes all things work together for good. 

Just like when my daughter's boyfriend thought that he needed forgiveness, there wasn't anything to forgive because there was no problem. God can take whatever was created and make all things work together for good. So the time that I put into creating that post and the time that I didn't put into creating the training video, He can take all of that and use it for good. 

The kind of message that nothing you'll take from this is that we will make mistakes. Just remember that even if we get off track and feel like we need to be forgiven, there is nothing to nothing because God can use all these things for good. And nothing's required if we turn to him. We look to him because the Scripture says, all things work together for good for those who love the Lord. So if you are turning to him and you are loving him, then he can make all things work together for good. So I wanted to and with a short little meditation. This will just be quick, but I wanted to have this experience with you, because this is what I did to get myself out of that kind of low vibration energy of feeling shame and guilt. 

What I did was I went to YouTube and just searched for binaural beats,. I've learned that binaural beats music connects your brain and your body through the spine. So as my brain told me I had done something wrong, and my body responded with the accurate idea that I needed forgiveness, I felt guilt and shame. So my brain and my body were believing that and were reacting to that with this shame and guilt. But as I reconnected my brain and my body to what reality is according to God's truth, then that music just really helped me to come back to the reality of what God's truth is, that he can take all things and use them for good, and all we have to do is look to him. 

I invite you to close your eyes. Take a deep breath and allow yourself to go to a moment, whether today, yesterday, this week, or whatever comes to you. Just allow the moment to come to you where you felt like you needed some forgiveness, where maybe you felt some guilt and shame. And just allow yourself to go to that moment. Accept it. Receive it, know that it happened. And then, as this music is playing, really focus on the music and nothing else. And allow the music to reconnect your brain and nothing and connect your brain and your body to God and his highest truth. That all things work together for good, for those, who love the Lord, for those who look to him for guidance and for forgiveness, which Christ has already died for us. So all is already forgiven. We are already restored. And God is bright enough; He has enough experience, He can orchestrate all things for good no matter how far off our path we get. 

No matter how far away we get from God's guidance, think of the most appraised person who has left the path of light. 

If we turn to God, we will be immediately received back, and all things will work together for good. Nothing is lost. 

As you are listening to the music you chose, I want to finish with some new truths that I was able to receive for myself. I invite you to allow new facts to come to you as well. But these are the ones that came to me:

• I remain in the light. 
• I look to God in all things. 
• All my actions are blessed and multiplied. 
• I renew my commitment to God to give all to him so that all things may be used for good. 

Meditate on these things throughout the day, and you'll partner with God all day long. I encourage you to reflect on the revealed new truths and perhaps write them in your journal. You may also purchase the Keeping Christ in Christmas beautiful full-color book and create a keepsake of your Christmas experience this year.

Click below to get your copy:

https://mentoring.wylenebenson.com/keeping-christ-in-christmas-book