There Are Benefits of Sitting In The Kitchen

It’s the fall of the year and we all know what that means.  It’s time to cook.  We’ve got school parties to provide cupcakes, cakes and pies.   There are neighborhood and friendly gatherings that we provide candies and treats and let’s not forget the church functions to which we take casseroles and soups.  My goodness, fall and winter is just full of festive gatherings.  We are constantly in the kitchen preparing for all of those wonderful times with family and friends. 

As you might guess, I’m sitting in the kitchen trying to put my “thoughts on a page” and Donna is in the process of making cupcakes for a fall youth function our church is hosting.  As I’m working on my notes and Donna is busy stirring and whipping the icing, it happened.  All of a sudden I’m interrupted with this smell.  It was such a delicious smell…chocolate cake.  The aroma coming from the oven filled the air with such a strong smell of chocolate… it is wonderful.  It was as if you could taste it without having it in your mouth.

I sat there inhaling the aroma and smacking my lips trying to taste the air as Donna continues whipping the icing mix.  The sound of the blender isn’t bothering me, but the smell of the icing mixed with the aroma of the cake baking in the oven is killing me.  My stomach is growling and my concentration is beginning to diminish.  I begin to ask myself, should I go into the bedroom and try working in there?  Then the most awesome thing happened.  Donna took one of the beaters from the blender and held it in front of my face.  Oh my goodness! The beater was full of cream cheese icing and the flavor of vanilla began to fill my mouth…and I haven’t even tasted the icing yet.  I asked the stupid question; is that for me?  The response was music to my ears and heaven to my mouth….YES! It tasted great!

Sitting there eating the icing, my mind went back to when I was a kid and I would sit at the counter watching my mom and grandmother cook.  Many times they would hand me a sample of what it was they were cooking.  From time to time, my mom would make a batch of no-bake cookies.  As she would drop the mixture of chocolate and oatmeal onto a cookie sheet to cool, she would drop some on a paper plate for me…good stuff, good times and great memories. 

Being in the kitchen, talking to the cook has its benefits.  You get to see the process of mixing the ingredients.  You learn of what special sauce is used to make the casserole taste so great.  You smell the aroma of food as it cooks and you see the results of the preparation before others.  Not only do you get to benefit from seeing, smelling and learning, but you get to sample some of the most delicious foods made.   Oh the joys of sitting in the kitchen. 

Not everyone wants to be in the kitchen because of different reasons.  Some think it’s too hot, the steam from the pots will fog up their glasses, the sound of kitchen appliances will drown out the sound of their voice or that they don’t have time.  For whatever reason there are relatives and friends who want to sit in other places, doing other things rather than sit there and talk to the cook.  They would rather be involved in other activities and miss out on opportunities to sample some of the most delicious foods.  Sure, they’ll get to enjoy the meal or the dessert at a later time, but they miss a great opportunity to developing a closer relationship, not to mention memories, with the cook. 

Sometimes I think people look at prayer in this manner.  They’ll get to enjoy time with God at church, but they miss the time to develop that closer, deeper relationship with Him through prayer.  By spending time in the kitchen with the cook we were “rewarded” with knowledge, insight and best of all small taste of food.  By spending time in prayer with God we’re “rewarded” with the same…knowledge, insight and small taste of His blessings.  Sure, we’ll get to experience His presence in a wonderful way come Sunday, but how special it is when He provides one of His precious blessings Tuesday morning all because we chose to spend time with Him in prayer.

You can’t go wrong when you spend time in the kitchen with God.  Although the sample of no-bake cookie dough was awesome….God’s sample of what He has for us later is far better.

Just my thoughts on a page…