Apple Pie Disaster

Original Photo by Author 

This time of year, I crave fresh baked apple pie. I picked up all the ingredients during our trip to the market and couldn’t wait to get home and make my pie. Instead of following my usual recipe, I opted for one of those Flakiest-Pie-Crust-You’ll-Ever-Make recipe claims.

Substituting butter for the shortening didn’t seem like a bad idea, but after refrigerating the dough for several hours, as the recipe claimed was the most important step, the dough was so stiff I couldn’t roll it out. I let it set for a half hour and tried again. The dough was still hard, and I didn’t get it as thin as I should, but I went ahead and baked it. I almost needed a chain saw to cut it.

I debated whether to throw the whole thing out, but the filling was perfect, and I really wanted some apple pie. After some thought, I made a single crust (skipped the refrigeration so it rolled out easily) pre-baked it, used the cooked filling and covered it with a French pie topping. It turned out well, but the crust still isn’t as flaky as my all shortening pie crust recipe.

 Disasters happen. Some of them due to our choices, others through no fault of ours. We can throw up our hands and throw everything out or look for what is salvageable and make the best of a bad situation. Faith makes that possible.

"... And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28.

Even if it doesn't seem true at the moment, like my pie, things can turn out better than we expected with patience, prayer, and a willingness to look for different solutions. 

Thank You, Lord, for my faith and trust in You. Without it, life would be unbearable. Amen

The Almost-Divorce

Photo by bpcraddock at Pixabay

I glared at my husband. “If we had a smart phone with GPS, we wouldn’t be in this fix.”

Our fix? Trying to decipher Google Directions in an unfamiliar town at midnight after a sixteen-hour drive, exhausted, with blood sugar somewhere around the South China Sea.

My husband’s response, “We don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on a phone.”

“But these directions are wrong, and I can’t read the map on my laptop and drive at the same time. We’re going in circles and have been for over two hours!”

“Don’t snap at me.”

I pulled into a parking lot and shoved the truck into park. “I’m calling the hotel.”

The desk clerk’s response to my request for directions, “I’m sorry, I’m new in town. Let me pull up Google Maps.”

I really, really wanted to cry.

After spending another half hour going in the same wrong circle, I pulled into a parking lot, bounced over the curb I didn’t see, rammed the truck into park, and grabbed my laptop. 

“I’m pulling up a city map, finding our location, and figuring out my own directions.” With a sob I added, “But I can’t drive, watch traffic, read street signs, and look at the map all at the same time!”

My husband didn’t reply. Instead, he slid out of the truck, marched over to the driver’s door, and yanked it open. 

“Get out.”

“I thought you were too tired to drive.”

“I’m awake now.”

“Fine!”

I stomped around to the passenger’s side and grabbed my computer. We were only two miles from the hotel — and had been for the last two hours!

If only we had a GPS…

The next morning, my son called and asked about the trip.

“Well,” I said, “We decided not to go through with the divorce.”

“That bad, huh?”

However, good can come from something bad. Two weeks after our trip, my husband announced he wanted to by not one, but two GPS systems, one for the truck and one for hiking.

I raised a brow.

His reply, “I told you we should have gotten one before we took that last trip.”

That was his usual way of saying he was wrong, and I was right.

He still won’t budge on a smart phone. If only he understood all the things they can do…

Oh, well.

When I first met the man back in 2001, he had no computer, no cell phone, not even an answering machine. We now have two laptops, two cell phones, and the recently added two GPS devices. He may yet relent on the smart phone.

However, my trust in the fallible things of this earth shattered this week, a little reminder of where my trust should lay.

A cracked valve in our geothermal unit has involved not one repair company but four different entities, and it doesn’t look like it will be fixed anytime soon, leaving us without heat or air conditioning.

I am sure God had a hand in the fact this happened now, after the heat of the summer and before the onset of cold weather. He certainly arranged for our dwindling savings account to have just enough to cover the repairs with a little left over.

So, while I may use my GPS and my other digital devices as useful tools, I need to remember they are fallible, but God is not. He’s already there in the next disaster, ready to respond with love and compassion to my faith and trust.

Is There Good In All Things?

Saint Paul says in Romans 8:28: “And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose are called to be saints.”

Afflictions come in many forms: natural disasters, physical ailments, financial struggles and horrendous suffering imposed by the actions of others. The list is endless. It is hard to think of any of it as being good for us

.

Acts 3: 1-10: Peter heals the crippled man lying outside the gate of the temple. Crippled since birth, the man suffered from his infirmity all of his life. Because of the length of his suffering, was his cure more miraculous? Does this mean his suffering was tied directly into God’s glory? That’s an uncomfortable thought. Yet, we know great good can spring from great suffering. Our most celebrated stories involve horrific struggles and sacrifices. 

If my faith is stronger because of suffering, will more afflictions be the spiritual equivalent of lifting weights? Hosea 6:1-2: “In their affliction they will rise early to me: Come, and let us return to the Lord. For he has taken us and he will heal us; he will strike and he will cure us.”

Our earthly mindset rebels at the idea that some suffering is good for us ― and for our loved ones. We avoid discomfort in any way possible and want to eradicate pain from the lives of others as well. We are to have compassion for others and to alleviate pain where and however we can, and yet are we still to see good in it?

What if the suffering is the direct result of someone else’s actions? Is that good for us as well? It’s a hard premise to swallow. And taken a bit further, it’s even harder to see good in the people that make us uncomfortable, let alone those that cause great suffering.

My Living Faith devotional had this: Hate Cripples. And, it does. The one who hates, suffers far more than the one causing the suffering.

Good Morning, Lord, by Joseph T. Sullivan: “I pray that I may see goodness in all people I meet, that I may be aware of your great care for them.” This reflects directly on Jesus’ commandment to love our enemies.

Breakfast with God, published by Honor Books, adds another thought: preparation for future tasks. The meditation speaks of Moses, Daniel, David, and Esther. Of course, these are only a few in a legion of saints who answered yes to God’s call and suffered horrifically for a future good. My personal role model is Joseph. He endured a great amount of suffering in preparation for his greatest role – the salvation of a nation.

The Bible repeatedly states that God is more concerned with our souls than our bodies, another scary thought. And yet, Jesus told the Apostles in John 6:20: “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

After some further meditation, I believe what St. Paul meant was that God can take bad things and turn them to something good for those with enough faith to trust Him. 

I may never fully understand this paradox. I must trust that God knows what is best for me and must accept whatever form that takes.  I believe prayer is the ultimate answer. We know it will heal. We know it will change circumstances. We know it will change hearts, and through faith we will eventually see good in all things, even those we dislike the most.

The Comedy Routine

They say haste makes waste and that is true. Haste, in my case, leads directly to an unscripted comedy routine and it starts with a few diabolical distractions.

I get up early, at least two hours before I need to start getting ready for work. These are the only hours in the day I have to sit alone in the quiet. I use that time to read my devotions, enjoy a cup of coffee (sometimes two) and write. Yet, this is also when I get into the most trouble.

Distractions, like rabbit trails, lead me further and further into the forest and farther away from what I should be focusing on - getting ready for work. In one heartbeat, I have two hours to putter. In the next I have less than a half hour to pack my lunch, shower, dry my hair, put on my make up and figure out what in the heck to wear that day. Breakfast? Well now that will have to be toast and peanut butter in the car. I bet you can see where this was going a lot faster than I did.