22 MAY

BAKING THE CAKE

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

(Romans 8:28)

I love this verse. When my children were in primary school, whenever any of them shared any challenge they faced in school, another would quickly recite this verse (in a mock Mummy’s voice) before we discussed the issue. I am smiling now, just as I did then!

Here is a beautiful story. Julie was teaching her young daughter, Joke, how to bake cake. “Joke, what on earth are you thinking of. I said weigh 200g of flour”. “Oh, sorry Mum, my friend Ngozi is leaving for London tonight and she will not come back”, answered Joke.” “Oh, don’t worry, you will make new friends”, Julie said. Joke cried out, “Mum, I lost my wristwatch again. My score in my History test was low.  My teacher was very angry with me. You should have seen how she shouted my name: ‘Joke I am disappointed in you. You should do better as the daughter of a History Professor’. Why is everything going wrong with me? I prayed. I thought I studied well.”

“Mmm,” Julie replies, “can you taste this flour?” “Just the raw flour? Yuck”, Joke said, as she spat it out. “Try the raw egg”. “Gross Mum”. “How about the margarine?” “Mum, they are all yucky”. “Try the sugar”. “These are sweet but I wouldn’t want to eat just sugar”. “Okay, let’s cream the margarine and sugar, beat the eggs and fold them in, then the flour mixed with the baking powder, add the vanilla flavour.  Good, let’s pour it into the cake tin and place it in the pre heated oven and let it bake.”

After a while, Julie brought out the cake and cut a piece for Joke to taste. “Yummy, Mum, you bake the best cakes!” “Joke, we are all works in progress. God is baking us. Just as some of the ingredients on their own are “yucky” and some are sweet but when put together correctly make delicious cake, so are our life experiences. We must learn the right lessons from the bad and difficult times. God, our Creator, puts them together with the good to work for our good. We must trust Him to work out the best for us, even in our difficult moments. That is His promise.” “Here, take this piece to Ngozi before she leaves”. “Thanks, Mum.”

ACTION: Smile with the assurance that God is in charge of your life.

PRAYER: Father God, please grant me grace to learn the right lessons from challenging situations and obediently wait on you to work all things together for my good.