My paternal grandmother Anna always kept a candy bowl full of Hershey’s Chocolate Kisses on a table in her home. It was a cut glass bowl through which you could see the tasty treats, and I imagine that sometimes the light would catch the cuts in the glass and make it glitter. Sometimes, mixed in, were the mini candy bars such as Krackle or Mr. Goodbar. Grandma also sometimes had available bags of chocolate chips, in her kitchen. I visited grandma perhaps once a week, in my younger years from age eight to 24, I think.
I’m not sure of the clinical definition of an addict, but, in some way, I’m probably a chocolate addict, to my detriment.
So one week, grandma, for whatever reason, gave me a whole bag of chocolate chips to take home, I think the six-ounce size (could it have been 12?). I’m not sure what I was thinking (or not thinking), but I ate the whole bag within an hour or two, not likely aware of possible consequences.
Soon enough, I began to have terrible stomach cramps. My mom took me to Kaiser emergency in Richmond, California. I recall the green walls of the hospital and the examining table. At first the doctor was puzzled, not sure of the cause of my discomfort. He started to talk about appendicitis and possible surgery. Somehow that sunk in to my dense mind, and/or he asked me what I had eaten recently.
When I told him that I’d eaten an entire bag of chocolate chips, then the doctor understood. My mother was very angry, more at my grandma than me. I don’t know if she had it out with my grandma or not.
Needless to say, I’m very careful these days about how much chocolate I eat.
clarakatalin 
Slight? Momentary?
“For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18, NRSVCE)
Until a few years ago (and I’m 70 as I write this), whenever I heard or read this Bible verse, I thought, “Slight? Momentary? It doesn’t feel that way.” My own hardest personal cross might be chronic mild depression (dysthymia). It has never felt “momentary”. It is probably “slight” compared to major depression. But I also think of many who carry what look like quite heavy crosses: chronic physical problems, financial struggles, family breakdown, and emotional or mental health issues. They never looked “slight” or “momentary” to me.
Here is another translation of the verses. I am adding this and the next one just to give different shades of meaning, hopefully helping all to understand the verses. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18, NIV)
And again: “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18, NLT)
This immediately preceding translation might give the clearest or simplest meaning for us. And the two verses actually explain themselves, if we think about it.
It’s all about perspective, eternal perspective, that is. When I began to focus on eternity, which after all, is a lot longer than an earthly life, the quote started to make a lot of sense. Yes, I or others may be suffering now, but COMPARED TO the rewards, joy, and glory of eternity, what we’re going through is NOTHING. Yes, it doesn’t feel good if we focus on the current suffering, but if we focus on what awaits people of faith in heaven, it’s incomparable!
This is not to dismiss the very real pain that all of us go through, but to give hope that it won’t last forever. And, we probably should try to alleviate others’ suffering, if not our own. But I’ve found it very helpful to forget myself and focus on the glory to come, while always working to improve what can be improved in my little area of the world.
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