I had another dream where I was rushing against all odds to accomplish something important. I woke with urgency still fresh in my veins.

The day before, I tried to pack too much into my day and hurried to make dinner for friends. I don’t enjoy cooking; I find it time-consuming and stressful. I do it because we need to eat. I cook for friends when it’s my turn.

An hour before they arrived, I discovered the tomatoes for the pico de gallo were rotten and commandeered Fred to get more. In between warming and flipping tortillas in the cast iron pan, I made lemonade, checked the enchiladas, chopped cilantro and found bowls for the sour cream and guacamole, burning at least one tortilla in the process. Looking back on it now, I see the violent tone to my frantic pace, as I superhumanly forced so much into a single hour.

What if instead I made peace with my humanity and allowed myself a leisurely amount of time to enjoy what I was doing?

Just thinking about it eases me back into that sense of spaciousness I talked about last week.

The One who shares forever with me knows how much time it takes to prepare food. God doesn’t begrudge the inefficiency needed to find pleasure in it.

But I do. I want to do what I have to do as quickly as possible, so I have more time for what I want to do.

“What if you gave yourself ample time to enjoy both?” the God of Forever asks and goes on to quote 2 Corinthians 9:8. “I am able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”

I let those words sink in. I have enough of everything I need. That includes time to savour the good work of cooking.

He brought me to the banqueting house,
and his banner over me was love.
–Song of Solomon 2:4 (ESV)

* * *

Love Mischief for the World

Here’s Marina making the seafood crepes in the picture above for one of our monthly Scrabble and dinner nights. Marina, Wendy, Ingrid and Ed are excellent cooks. They enjoy creating delicious meals that are a delight to see, smell and taste. Although I am somewhat intimidated by their enthusiasm and artistry, their love of cooking doesn’t keep them from appreciating and enjoying what I cook too. They inspire me to have as much fun preparing food as I do finding seven letter words.

What love mischief are you and God doing to care for the earth?
 Let me know and I will include it in an upcoming post.

Credits and References:
Banner image of chef by Artica Roma Restaurant from Pixabay. Used with permission.
“Cooking” by baron valium. Used with permission.
Scrabble night photos by Ed Dahl. Used with permission.

© Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim, 2017.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without permission from Esther Hizsa is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used provided there is a link to the original content and credit is given as follows: © Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim 2013-2017.  http://www.estherhizsa.com