Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or turn away from them.
Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.
Though it costs all you have, get understanding.
Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will honor you. She will give you a garland to grace your head
and present you with a glorious crown.” Proverbs 4:5-9
It was Easter day, and my three year old daughter and I were making Funfetti cupcakes to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. Emma loves “helping” and the kitchen, and cupcakes seemed like an especially exciting feat. She pulled the barstool around the kitchen island to be front and center on the action, (A.K.A. right in the way.) Pretending to be a mother who relishes having her toddlers “help” in the kitchen, I gave Emma her very own spatula for the endeavor. “I mix myself!” she immediately insisted. “Okay baby that’s fine. But, let mama help you a little bit.” “I mix myself!” she hollered as she tried to pull the spatula, which was already dunked in cupcake batter, away from my helping grip. “Okay well, just lower your hand and keep the spatula in the bowl,” I insisted to no avail. Her grip on the spatula was at the tail end of the handle, giving her little to no control over what she was doing. “I keep my hand right here,” she rebutted. Batter began to go wild as Emma failed to keep her utensil in the bowl. I grabbed the spatula again to stop the snowball of what was quickly becoming a gargantuan mess. “I do it myself!” Emma screamed, trying to jerk the spatula away from my helping hand with all her might. The more I tried to help, the more the situation escalated, until my daughter was a screaming banshee, “LET GOO MOMMY! LET GO OF MY MIXER!”
How often do we do the same thing with God? The Lord knows what is best for us as his children; he holds the plans of our lives in the palm of his hand. All he wants to do is to help and guide us; still, we insist on doing it our own way. “I do it myself!” we say. When we don’t know the “why” behind God’s corrections in our lives, we insist, “Let go of my mixer.” Instead of stopping, dropping our spatula, and bowing our heads to pray, we escalate the situation by continuing on in our defiant ways.
God wants what is best for us as his children. Sometimes we fail to see the truth of this reality when we are caught up in the excitement and momentum of our lives. God wants to teach us the best way. He wants to show us how it’s done. He doesn’t want to ruin our fun, but he does want to direct us so that we are the best bakers that we can possibly be. The end product will be so much better, with much less of a mess to clean up in the end, when we let the head chef take his rightful place in our lives.
The wise heed the admonition of the Lord. Those with insight strive to follow the recipe of God’s Word. Those with understanding seek after the ingredients that will lead to a righteous life. Those with wisdom are soft like dough, allowing the Lord to shape their hearts and lives according to his will and way.
Jesus wants to train you to be a fabulous sous chef, but we must always remember our place is beneath the head chef, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let Jesus take hold of the spatula of your life. Do not bat away his helping hand. Mix the wisdom of the Lord into your daily life through God’s Word, prayer, and fervently seeking the Lord’s will in all things.
Steps of Faith:
The next time you enter your kitchen to prepare a meal, pray that the Lord would guide, direct, and go before you. In your culinary endeavors and in life, invite Jesus to be the head chef of your life, so that he can teach you his ways of excellence and you will find success, favor, and the shield of God’s love surrounding you in all that you do.
For you bless the godly, oh Lord; you surround them with your shield of love. Psalm 5:12 (NLT)
If you are interested in reading a digital copy of my book, The Meaning of Motherhood, for free, in exchange for a review, please visit the following link: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/review-copy/view/113672/the-meaning-of-motherhood-discovering-joy-and-purpose-through-christ-in-the-everyday-moments-of-mom-life
I now want cupcakes lol and wow how this is so relatable!! We want so badly to be in control and sometimes we think we are... but that's a funny thought 🙂 Thank you for sharing this!
This was a beautiful reflection on the importance of letting God help us, knowing the process and end result surpass every expectation when he takes over. I really needed to read this:) thank you!!