The Most Bitter Cup

Reflecting on the Garden of Gethsemane, Andrea Vij remembers a time she had to surrender to God’s will. 

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; still, not my will but yours be done." (Luke 22:42) 

I’ve never been to the Holy Land, but a number of my friends have, and from what I can tell, not a single one of them can talk about it without getting emotional. It seems that walking in the actual footsteps of Jesus can have that effect on a person.  

I sat recently with a friend who showed me her pictures from the Garden of Gethsemane. She teared up when she described what was going through her mind as she stood outside the gate looking in: “This is where He wept. This is where He prayed. He knew what was going to happen.” 

Walking in Gethsemane 

I asked my friend what it felt like to walk in the garden. She told me about the gnarled olive trees, the ancient stones, and the beautiful weather. Then she paused, tearing up again. “I remember looking down at the ground and thinking, He’s been here.” 

The Garden of Gethsemane was my friend’s “go-to” destination, that one place in the Holy Land she most needed to see. For her, everything about our faith came together in that garden, where Our Lord surrendered to the Father’s will and accepted the cup that had been set before Him.  

An Unwanted Cup 

I imagine we can all think of a cup or two along the way that we didn’t want to accept. Some were probably small, like a canceled flight or a sprained ankle, but others contained a more substantial helping of bitterness. For me, the most bitter cup came filled with the news that due to an otherwise harmless genetic condition, I would never become a biological mother.  

I remember the afternoon I spent lying on the bedroom floor, watching the daylight slip away and sobbing as the reality of my situation sank in. I couldn’t run from God’s will. I had to drink from the cup He had given me, no matter how bitter the taste. But at least I had the example of Jesus to follow. Like my friend Melanie as she walked through the Garden of Gethsemane, I could look down at the ground — or in my case, the carpeted floor of my bedroom — and think, He’s been here. Our Lord has shown me what to do. 

God’s Plan  

Thank God for my husband, who had this wild and wonderful idea that we might try international adoption. At first, I resisted, unable to picture myself as an adoptive mom and afraid of the obstacles we might face. But eventually I agreed to look into it, and wouldn’t you know? God had a plan.  

We jumped headlong into the world of adoption, a place neither of us had ever been, and although the process was complicated and grueling at times, I wouldn’t trade a thing — not the waiting, not the worrying, not the obstacles, not the setbacks, and certainly not the astounding series of miracles that had to unfold before I could finally hold my baby boy in my arms. 

That baby boy just turned sixteen, and looking back I can tell you that every sip I took from my most bitter cup had a purpose. Every sip brought me closer to fulfilling God’s plan, and every sip played a role in building our small but mighty family of three. But we had to do it God’s way. 

The Joy that Awaits 

On Holy Thursday, we enter the Garden of Gethsemane with Our Lord to keep vigil as He weeps, prays, and surrenders to the will of the Father. He knows what lies ahead. He knows there will be pain and suffering. But He also knows what will happen in three days’ time. 

If, like me, you’ve never been to the Holy Land, you can still take a moment now and then to look at the ground — or the sky, or the trees, or the carpeted floor of your bedroom — and know that Our Lord has been where you are. He has walked where you walk, and He knows the bitter taste of every unwanted cup. He also knows the joy that awaits if we surrender, accept each cup as it is offered, and drink deeply of the Father’s will.  

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Copyright 2025 Andrea Vij
Images: Ceramic chalice image generated by Grok 3 and developed by XAI on March 11, 2025, in response to a user prompt by Andrea Vij; garden image created by anonymous friend of the author, all rights reserved; golden chalice image Canva.