The smell rising from the kitchen aroused strong pangs of desire in me. I knew that my wife was there, attractive, fragrant and radiant with her sleeves tucked seductively up over scandalously beguiling bare arms. I trod the stair carpet gently, unwilling to break the spell of allurement. Carefully I moved across the kitchen floor, positioned myself secretly behind her feminine form. All was laid bare before my gaze. Diane had been baking again!
I love her baking. Her cakes are a constant challenge to my waistline, not to mention my low fat regime. There may be death in the pot but hey, what a way to go! I allow the fabulous fumes to arise into my searching nostrils while my hand creeps silently towards the newly made objects of desire. ‘Oi, get off!’ The slap to my hand is playful but has the desired effect. ‘They’re not ready yet. You’ll have one with your tea’.
One thing I have noticed over the years that Diane has practised the baking arts is that the ingredients alone are never very tasty. Baking soda hardly tickles the palate. The whites of an egg or two make very sticky banality whilst lemon rind is bitter and choking. Flour makes you sneeze and margarine is just slippery candle-wax. No joy in stealing any of those. But ah! When collected and manipulated by my gifted wife together they become baking heaven. The difference is phenomenal. What you would not give a penny for, when brought under the spell of her recipe you could sell for a mint.
My life has been like that. The ingredients alone are not very attractive. Incidents and experiences that on their own are at best bland and at worse bitter and choking, are blended by Jesus Christ the master baker to produce a recipe that is for His glory. Romans 8:28 says that in all things (even the sour and sad things) God works for the good of those who love Him. The isolated incidences alone are never satisfying and cannot easily be understood, but God takes all these sour ingredients and blends them together to produce an outcome that is good. Mind you – it’s the heat of the oven that I can’t stand.
.jpg)
