Somerset: The Human Biscuit Experiment

The housekeeper of our summer parish, Mrs. Blackstone, has always been one to whom I could go to for advice or in times of trouble. I admit, however, it has been her cooking that keeps me coming back repeatedly. She keeps fresh biscuits baked daily when we are in house, and makes us hot tea with fresh vanilla flavored cream. She concocts the sweetened cream from the cows she has milked herself. I do not know where she acquires her vanilla beans from, and I do not care. I am all too overjoyed she has them!

What I love about her biscuits is they are the perfect combination of chaos and control. The recipe is precise in measurement, and that control makes them perfectly soft and flaky each and every time. However, Mrs. Blackstone enjoys trying different variations of flavors in her biscuits. The chaos introduced by the new flavors she incorporates yields the most lovely bite of perfection my mouth has ever known. We must not forget the oven, though. Were it not for the fire, these delights would be nothing but a cold lump of dough.

Chaos is always at odds with control, but when the two embrace one another, something beautiful happens when they are thrown into the fire together.

When we are born, God looks at us as if we are subjects in His kitchen. He is able to see every strength we have, every weakness, every flaw in our design. Then, He looks into our future and makes a plan for how to best help us overcome our weaknesses. He strengthens our character so He can shine brighter than any of our flaws. His ultimate goal is to turn us into something that will feed the hungry around us.

This is no easy task, as He is aware. He knows along our path of development in this earthly life, Satan will stop at nothing to delay our developmental progress. Satan does not want to see us all mixed together. He does not want us to experiment with different flavors. He does not want us to bake in the oven and come out smelling sweet.

Fortunately, we can depend upon God's perfect plan that will not take away from our individual strengths, but add to them over time. Regardless of how long it takes, He will never cook us too long or forget about us. Some of us are dough, rolled out and cut into perfect circles. Some of us refuse to take on any sort of a structured shape. Some of us are cut thicker than others. The thick ones take longer to bake than the thin ones. Be patient, my precious ones, and trust the process. By the time we have been mixed and baked to perfection, not only will God be happy at this creation He has formed, but we will be equally happy to be used by Him to feed His people.

God has already laid out a perfect recipe for us to follow in His word. That recipe will produce perfectly baked human-biscuits each and every time. But, let us be honest ... who wants a biscuit that tastes exactly the same each time we take a bite? That would be boring. So, to remedy this problem, God introduces into our lives all sorts of flavors. Some flavors prove to be more of a challenge to swallow than others. But, if we keep to the basic recipe, the chaos thrown our way will just make us better, unique, superb!

Do not be afraid of challenges or challenging people. If we respond with patience, love, hope, perseverance, self-control, and the fruits of a life surrendered to Holy Spirit, we will not be harmed by these people or circumstances, but made more flavorful by them. Despair not when the fire gets hot. Simply trust the process!

Galatians 6:9-10

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.