When it comes to food, at least half of the appeal is the presentation. Something can be delicious but look awful and, therefore, keep people at bay. When my son was in kindergarten, his class was reading Dr. Seuss, so the kitchen prepared green eggs and ham for them. It took some cajoling to get the kids to eat the green eggs. They loved the concept, but they didn't necessarily want to eat them!
On the flip side, we had a Japanese young lady stay with us for several weeks a couple of years back, and she thought everything looked delicious! For three solid weeks, every single item that she ate was photographed first. She turned her plate this way and that, looking for the best possible angle. Each and every photo was uploaded onto her social network page. She was so excited about food. She was studying nutrition in Japan, and she wanted to taste and document everything she could. It was delightful to watch....if not outright amusing!
The photos my brother-in-law and I took of our children last Fall, however, were not anywhere near delightful. They may have been amusing to an onlooker, but it was almost impossible to get five children in a row to look at the camera and smile on cue! If you have children, you probably can imagine what I'm talking about. My sister happened to be out of town on the date of the photo shoot. That was problem number one. Our children see each other about once a year since we live so far apart, and they were incredibly excited. That was problem number two. These kids were all over the place. At one point, they exited the photo studio and ran down the aisles of a department store. My son found my sister's three boys lying in a heap wrestling...in the department store... Once we gathered them back together and marched them back to the studio, I either had to threaten them with their very lives or to make grand promises of ice cream to get favorable responses out of all five. And after the photos were taken, there was a computer malfunction, and more than half of the pictures were lost from the camera card. Fortunately, there were two pretty good group shots that we were able to get. All in all, the moment would have been impossible to an inexperienced cameraman. We just happened to have a lady who had several children of her own, and she pulled it all off in the end.
In our household, we are faced with an onslaught of impossible moments. Frustration levels could run high if were relied solely on our own abilities, but we don't. We definitely have a higher power at work on our behalf! We know that we are doing what God has asked of us, so we are confident that He will pull us through every rough spot. In fact, Romans 8:28 tells us that "in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." We believe God's promises, and we stand firm on the fact that God always has been faithful to us. Last year, in particular, we were faced with numerous challenges, but the Lord prepared a way for us through every trial.
We are blessed to serve a God who lovingly cares for us. Like those squirmy little children at the photo shoot, we are probably all over the place in God's eyes! There are more than likely quite a few moments when the heavenly Father rolls his eyes and then gently scoots us back into place. The amazing thing is that the final photos always turn out somehow, don't they? God is keenly aware of His presentation. He picks us up from our messes, brushes us off and allows us to come out looking good in the end!
Favorite presentation: I have a wonderful three tiered stand that opens out to serve in staggered heights side-by-side instead of straight up and down. It's a beautiful centerpiece itself when tasty bites are presented on this stand. Other dishes can sit around on the table, but the lifted heights of the three plates on that stand make the table so beautiful.
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