It's Gotta Be From Scratch

It's Gotta Be From Scratch... Another Myth We Swallow

Me and Jason hanging out

Today I am making my son Jason's favorite cake... it's his birthday after all, and a guy turns 27 only once in a life time. Last night I tortured myself with thoughts of how to make it - should I slave away with flour, sugar, eggs, and cocoa for the better part of the day, I mean THAT would show my love, right? I could present it to him covered in a fine dusting of flour, exhibiting signs of extreme "Martha Stewart" syndrome and THEN everybody would think "wow, this woman loves her son, she gave her whole day AND her pride (because I look awful) and energy (because I look exhausted) to making her son that perfect, beautiful, made-from-scratch cake!"

Now, you are probably thinking to yourself (and you would be right) "Ummmm.... that is crazy."

And yes, it is, I am a super busy mom and mommy (there is a difference and anyone with both young adult kids and toddler kids in the same house will know what I mean); I am working, studying, exercising, cleaning, running errands, etc from dawn to dusk, so once I got over my little fantasy of baking in the kitchen all day while small woodland creatures danced around me, I realized there was NO WAY that could actually happen.

So, this morning I headed to Publix and got me some Betty Crocker boxes, frosting tins, eggs, and oil - and here I am, an hour later, looking at the most beautiful cake!... and I didn't sweat even one droplet and there's not a poof of flour anywhere.

It is very important that I make a little side note here that I am not saying home made cake making is bad, in fact some of my closest friends make the most amazing from-scratch confections that I have ever seen or tasted (yes, I'm talking about you, Sonia and Destiny!), it's a true gift and I wish I had it... but my point here is: I don't.

As I was beating my boxed cake this morning on medium for 2 minutes, it occurred to me that alot of the exhaustion and frustration that we face in this life is because we try to make things from scratch that we aren't qualified to make - here's a list of some of my personal "My Own Way Recipes" that have caused me trouble in the long run:

* Make My Own Future Happen Casserole
* Force My Kids to Do Things My Way Brownies
* Get Everyone to Love Me Pie
* Look Like I Got It All Together Even When I Am Dying On The Inside Turnovers
* Be The Most Valuable Player 24/7 Bundt Cake
* Solve Everyone's Problems Cuz I Know Everything Cookies

.... do some of these sound familiar? Chances are you've got some real bad "made from scratch" recipes of your own in the oven of life right now... and like me, you will find that in the end, they flop or burn or curdle.

Here's the point of all of this: God doesn't want us to create our lives and our future or anything from scratch, He's already done it... In fact, He has boxed up all the ingredients that we need in a little book, the Bible. All the instructions, all the information that we need for success and peace and acceptance and love is right there.

Don't swallow the lie that YOU have to make your life better or that you are on your own in this crazy kitchen of life - in those moments when you are tempted to whip up your own solutions, sit down, open your Bible, and watch Jesus create something amazing in you.