My "Two Cents Worth": Life is like the mustard on a hotdog!!

I know what a crazy sounding title this is for my first blog of the year. I have actually been thinking on the topic for several weeks, since my husband was the one who said it. We were getting ready for church on day and just talking about things like we always do and he just said it and I just gave him one of those looks. Ladies you know the looks I'm talking about. Anyway I got to thinking about it and decided that he was absolutely right, Life is like the mustard on a hot dog. You might be asking why I think that, then you might not even really care, but I'm going to explain my thinking to you anyway.

I knew that mustard came in different varieties, but I never really knew just how amazing mustard is. I learned that mustard is one of the oldest condiments, dating back to early Roman cooks and that not much has really changed about it over the centuries. I also learned that mustard is made by mixing the ground seeds of the mustard plant with liquid and that it is the choice of seeds and the type of liquid used that creates the different varieties we have today.

So, now that you know a little more about the origin of mustard and how it is made, we will take about how it mirrors life.

1. Yellow Mustard: This mustard is at the bottom of the mustard scale, not too hot or spicy, but just enough to give you the flavor. This reminds me of the times of life when you are just going along, doing your everyday thing and life is just right. Those times when everything is calm and your boat is just sailing along.

2. Honey Mustard: This mustard is made from mixing yellow mustard and honey, just to add a little sweetness. This reminds me of those life moments that are the sweetest. When you get married, have a baby, buy a new home. All the goals that you accomplish, those are the sweet moments in life.

3. Spicy Brown Mustard: This mustard is made with brown mustard seeds which are soaked in less vinegar. This combination of hotter seeds and less acidity make sure the heat is more pronounced. This reminds me of those times in life when things are a little out of whack. You know, when it is all going pretty good, but you have that one thing that disrupts your plans just enough to feel it. Maybe you are late for work because of a traffic jam or bad weather. Maybe your kids couldn't find their shoes or coats and it throws your whole "daily plan" off. All of these add a little acidity to your life making things just a little bit spicy.

4. Dijon Mustard: This mustard is made with brown mustard seed and the acidic juice made from unripe grapes, instead of vinegar, producing the intensified heat and more pungent flavor. This remind me of those times when things get thrown all out of whack. You wake up sick only to find one or more of the kids are also sick. Perhaps you had a horrible fight with your spouse and neither wants to apologize, so you walk around mad all day. Maybe you got beat out for a promotion at your job, that should have been yours. All these things add even more acid or sour to your life, making it seem as if all the world is weighing on you.

5. Hot Mustard: This mustard type starts with ground black or brown mustard seeds and just a small amount of cold water, it then gradually gains heat for about fifteen minutes before mellowing out. Even though it mellows out, it will still continue to gain heat unless refrigerated. This is for those times that break you. It might be a divorce that you are going through and those are never pretty. It could be the death of your spouse, loved one or even a child. (Been there, done that). It could be a sickness of yourself, spouse or child (as we faced when our daughter had cancer). That extra acid, the sour, makes these times almost to hot to stand.

As you can see, life really is like mustard. It can be sweet or hot. It can be easy to handle or really difficult. It can be calm and add just enough flavor to make you happy or enough heat to make you miserable.

In it all just remember that Jesus knew something about mustard too. He knew that although tiny in size one mustard seed could grow into a huge mustard plant. He made a point to tell us that if our faith in him was like a mustard seed, great things can be done.