Later, Hater, While I Eat My Now & Laters, Drink Your Haterade, While I Drink My Kool aid, and make mine fruit punch

Haters, Now & Laters and Koolaid were all a part of my childhood.

Now & Later is the name of a candy that comes in little individually wrapped squares, then sold in a row sealed in plastic, in flavors like grape, lemon, banana. Unbeknownst to my mother,  with my allowance I filled my brown bag from the convenience store with Now & Later packs, Lemonheads, Boston Baked Beans and other sundry, sugary items that resulted in thousands of dollars in dental bills later.

nowandlaters

“Hater” and “Hater-ade” are recent urban terms for an old experience.  “Hater” is someone who is jealous or hates you.  Used in a sentence, “The “Hater” should go drink her “Hater-ade,” like someone would chug down Gatorade.

Haters, Now & Laters and Koolaid are all a part of my childhood.

As a child, I had a “friend,” well at least someone who I thought was my friend.  We were like, well “peas and carrots.”  She was popular and I really wasn’t, and she liked me.  We would hold hands, go over each other’s houses, even our dolls were friends.

Day30 Frank Sinatra

We made cakes in our Easy Bake Oven. But, then one day, she just turned.  Instead of walking to school together, she walked past me – didn’t speak.  I thought maybe she didn’t see me.  But after school, she walked out with two more girls and right past me.  After a few days I was able to catch her alone and asked why.  She just laughed. our friendship was over.

“Well, I don’t know what happened, honey but sometimes people are jealous. Even hate you when you haven’t done anything to them,” Mama said while I cried at our kitchen table the place where my mother fed us physical and spiritual food.

Big tear drops falling on the table, “Jealous? Hate Me? Why? I couldn’t accept this from a friend who ate grape Now & Laters with me when I did nothing to her.

“There was a child in the Bible named Joseph who was the son of Jacob who had brothers who hated him and yet he did nothing to them either,” Mama continues while she stirs the cup of sugar, fruit punch Koolaid, water and ice in the glass pitcher.  One day he told them about a dream, that he didn’t interpret at the time, but his brothers knew it spoke of Joseph’s future.   They hated him for his dream. So, you know what they did?”

fruit punchMama consoles while she pours me a cup of fruit punch and makes me a sandwich, “They sold him into slavery. His own brothers were jealous.  According to historians, he was just 17 years old.”

Hater’s drinking a lot of haterade.

Perplexed I say, “His brothers didn’t like him, but he didn’t do anything to them!”

Mama again, “That’s right.   So you can be the gift of God you are, loved by God Himself and still be hated by others for no reason. But God was still with Joseph.  Although he was a slave, he ended up in the palace, reporting to the head man, Potiphar.  Whatever Joseph did, he did it well.

And Potiphar favored Joseph.  But some favor is not so good, because he was also favored by Potiphar’s wife.    She tried to trick him into doing the wrong thing, but he wouldn’t. Joseph was fine, like that little boy you like in school. You know?  So, she lied on him to her husband. Joseph, due to no fault of his own, goes from the palace to  prison.

Joseph suffered but then, but God…

Even in prison he became like a prison warden because along with being fine, he was also smart.

The dream gift God gave him that originally got him into slavery, later got him out of prison.  While in prison he interpreted a prisoner’s dream.  That prisoner was released and became a servant of the king.  Years later, when the King had a disturbing dream that couldn’t be interpreted, the prisoner-turned-servant remembered that there was a Dream Interpreter in prison, Joseph. Joseph interpreted the king’s dream and in one interaction, one moment, he went from prison to the palace again.  Joseph prospered and he blessed others to prosper – running things, getting married, living his life, like it’s golden.

That’s not where the story ends.  Joseph’s brothers, the same ones who sold him into slavery, ended up having to ask him for food. they ran out of food in their city and had to go to the city where Joseph ruled.  Yes, the same ones who enslaved him, Joseph now had the authority to enslave.

But he didn’t. And Joseph wasn’t perfect, he played around, scared them a little when they came to him for food.  They didn’t recognize him because the last time they saw him, he was a runt.  But when they faced him he was a fine, multi-lingual, sharp-dressed CEO.  He could have harmed, but he blessed them instead, giving them food and money.

But, baby girl, this is what I want you to know from this whole story.  Even if people hate you, God loves you.  And even though dreams are deferred, keep dreaming. And even though people harm you, if at all possible, bless them.  And even though family relationships are broken, they can be restored.  And even though you’ve experienced rejection, you can be healed.  And even in adversity, you can be excellent. And even though you suffer, you can say like,  Joseph, ‘God has made me to forget my suffering.’  You Meant Evil, God Meant it for good. Genesis 50-20

Thank you for reading or listening.

by Gwennie