God is in the Kitchen
What’s He Cooking Up for Me?
by
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Years later, during a break from our homeschool lessons, my little boy engaged me in a silly wordplay which he picked up from reading cartoon clips. “Mama, if an ice cube can talk, what will you tell him?” Pajo asked.
“I don’t know. What?”
“You’re cool!”
“How about a pebble? What can you say to a pebble?” Pajo asked again.
I still had no clue, so my son continued, “You rock!”
That made me chuckle until he dished out more. “Mama, try this one. What will you tell an oven?”
By then, I understood the pattern so the answer was pretty obvious, but my other children jumped into the bandwagon and volunteered, “You’re hot!”
Amidst the giggles, a tiny voice chimed in, “Ooh, I know one more, Mama. What will a tree say?”
I couldn’t venture a guess until one kid piped up, “Mama, I think you’re a tree! You’re stumped!” By this time, my family was one noisy crowd, snorting and sounding like a laughing kookaburra.
When the racket settled down, I asked, “Pajo, out of all these statements, which one describes me? Am I cool or hot? Do I rock?”
My son gave his signature prankish look then with tongue-in-cheek jazz said, “You stink!”
That naughty rascal didn’t get away from me without a battery of tickles. But after the wide grin faded, the thought throbbed in my head with a rapid-fire insistence that was difficult to ignore.
Life is sometimes like that. It stinks! Problems and puzzles leave you stumped. With agitations raging left and right, you can’t be cool. The absurdities of your situation are no longer laughable and cute, and they leave you jalapeno hot … hot-tempered, that is.
Your cobwebs are sticky.
Your knots are tight.
The briers are prickly.
And the lamp bummed out; there is no light.
Your foot is stuck in the rabbit hole.
Life, as you know it, simply stinks!
On such occasions, can we still profess the goodness of God and keep our allegiance to Christ firm?
When life is a valley of trouble and imbroglios greet you at every turn, hold tight to your faith. You have entered your Garden of Gethsemane. It is all a test to see what solidity your spirit consists. Will you be a quitter or a conqueror? Will you be subdued or will you overcome? Will you be the warrior who rises to the occasion? Or will you be the cynic who slinks away in abject fear long before the rough-and-tumble begins? Will you cut your victory speech midsentence and retract when it seems like you can no longer hold the fort?
My friend, do not be the loser who backs out of the boxing ring without an offensive punch. Fight your battles, and do not give up. The burden you carry is a test of faith to turn the worrier and naysayer into a victor.
When God says “no” or when the answer to prayer is too foggy to understand, do not feed your mind with despair. Let hope be the fodder for your soul. Do not degenerate into a skeptic who scoffs at the goodness of God because your life is not a picture of perfection.
Imitate David who was staunch in piety despite the sneers and pillages of his enemies. It is alright to sulk like the psalmist who wondered, “How long, Lord, will you look on?” (Psalm 35:17).
It is also fine to plead,
Lord, you have seen this; do not be silent.
Do not be far from me, Lord.
Awake, and rise to my defense!
Contend for me, my God and Lord.
Vindicate me in your righteousness, Lord my God;
do not let them gloat over me.
(Psalm 35:22–24)
Like David, you too may complain, if by so doing, you ventilate your anguish. But with the same breath, let your allegiance still remain in Christ. Even when your sighs are deep and your mouth is too bone-dry for words, announce with boldness,
My tongue will proclaim your righteousness, your
praises all day long. (Psalm 35:28)
Believe in the goodness of God even when you are engulfed by an avalanche of pain, and the world unleashes its wrath on you. You have entered into your Gethsemane moment, and it is an absolute privilege. It is your turn for the night watch. The suffering Messiah needs a companion for the hour, and He handpicked you to learn from His cross.
Bleed with Him.
Groan with Him.
Be sanctified with Him.
For through your Gethsemane moment, as you collapse into the comforting arms of Jesus, you regain strength. Your calamity is a scourge that purges you of your weaknesses and teaches you to cling to the Rock of Ages. In this is your power!
Therefore, sit devotedly at God’s side even when your heart is broken into pieces. Stay in the Garden, and keep vigil through the night. Today may seem like your crucifixion, but tomorrow, the glory of the Resurrection will come. God will mend you back into form with far greater strength than what you had in the beginning. With the Lord, you will never come away empty-handed.
Recognize that what ails you now is simply a test.
It will not last!
The countdown is on—soon this will be over.
Dear friend, by the grace of the Holy One who is in charge of this test, may you not flunk out!
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About the Book
God reaches out to where you are.
He isn’t cooped up in church, glued to the pews, detached from what matters most to you. He’s bustling through your crowded schedule, flagging you down, waving until you take notice and give pause. He speaks even while you’re in the middle of a vegetable-slicing, dinner-prepping, multi-tasking moment.
The God who is interested in your comings and goings, weaves through your routines to grab your attention. He has invaded your kitchen space and is cooking up a feast for you.
What’s on the menu?
Generous helpings of love and mercy, seasoned to perfection with His grace. He’s ready to serve you a platter of patience and integrity, but not until they’re roasted through suffering. He has bowls of sweet comfort for the grief-stricken and stillness for the frazzled.
God is in the Kitchen invites you to a serendipitous discovery to broaden your awareness of God’s not-so-hidden intervention in the ordinary. Don’t watch out for big miracles alone. God peppers even the most drab, yawn-inducing day with little surprises. You only need eyes of faith to spot them.
God is busy in the kitchen.
Guess what He’s whipping up for you?
About the Author
Ginger Umali is an artist, math tutor, and homeschooling mother of three. As down-to-earth as her writing, she is a bucketful of quirks who cries at the sight of rainbows, creates eye-catching paintings when troubled, considers math textbooks perfect coffee-table reading, and talks to plants in her Surrey residence. She writes from a heart that suffered a twenty-year odyssey through the wilderness where pain was soul-racking and God seemed more than an arm’s length away.
Ginger is an active member of Vancouver-based Families for Christ Community, a lay Christian organization that is part of The Sword of the Spirit, an international network of more than seventy-five ecumenical communities. There she serves the Lord through music.