I have a dream.
No, really, I have this dream where I’m in a restaurant and everyone around me is eating cheesecake.
Cheesecake and Sandwiches
Rich. Creamy. Cheesecake with sauces in a rainbow of colors, decorative garnishes and crumbly crusts. Cheesecake is my favorite. So, I wait (somewhat) patiently for my own delicious portion to be delivered to my table.
When my order finally arrives, the plate in front of me is not what I expected.
I’m given a plate containing a sandwich with a mushy brown filling topped with a pickle.
Everyone else in the restaurant looks over at me as I lift a corner of the bread to see what the filling of my sandwich is. 
A guest post from Susan Glover of the North Pointe Writers Group.
My Sandwich
At this point I wake up and realize that I have been given a poop sandwich.
Ah, the poop sandwich (also known by a stronger name in some circles). I am very familiar with this poop sandwich that I have been served, as well as the cheesecake that everyone else is eating.
A good deal of my life is spent looking at the cheesecake on other people’s plates. I see their nicer houses, better jobs, brighter children, and happier marriages.
People eating cheesecake have it all together, they can multi-task their amazing careers with their fabulous personal lives, and social media does a brilliant job of reinforcing those facts.
My Life
But my life is different. My life isn’t fluffy filling and sweet toppings. My life is smelly and messy and at times covered in flies.
I often wish that I could have that sweet desert of a life, where everything is put together in a sugary package, and I wonder why I have been handed a smelly meal instead.
The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that people show us the cheesecake they eat in public, but hide their own poop sandwiches. None of us are all fluffy filling and crumb crust. We all have a little bit of brown mush in our lives.
Photo by Erol Ahmed on Unsplash
The Real Meal
The challenge is to not only see each other for the real meal they are eating, but also to have the strength to show our less than perfect side as well.
We all have to choke down a little bit of poo now and then.
The dream has left me thinking about what comes next. What can I do to make my sandwich, and the sandwiches of others, a little bit more palatable?
I realize that I am called to love both others and myself as I am called to love God, with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. 
4 Ways To Love
1. With my heart I need to be both a support to others and receive support for myself.
2. My soul is called to pray for the people around me, including the ones with cheesecake lives.
3. With my strength I can see the possibility and potential in myself and those I interact with.
4. My mind must develop a plan to follow through with the love I need to share. 
What’s In Front Of You
I still dream.
But my dream is now kinder and gentler, and contains a more balanced plate. We all have servings of cheesecake and poop sandwiches, but we need to support each other and be open to loving one another regardless of what is in front of us.
APPLICATION: Have you been served a sandwich of a different sort? Please leave a comment for Sue below. Thank you.
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In Anne Lamott’s TED talk on 12 Truths she learned from life and writing, she cautions us not to, “compare our insides to other people’s outsides.”
A great lesson for cheesecake lovers.
https://www.ted.com/talks/anne_lamott_12_truths_i_learned_from_life_and_writing/up-next
Thank you, Sue, for your creative writing piece. Its one thing to have an idea. Its another to write it down. And sharing it with the world is the most vulnerable aspect of all.
The more I listen to people everywhere, the more I come to understand we all have lumps in our lives.
I read a quote today that paraphrased goes something like, “rough seas make better sailors.”
Sail on.