As I type, I'm munching on one of my favorite morning treats: toasted Ezekiel bread with peanut butter and my mother's crock pot apple butter. At this moment, I am very happy to be alive! It's very rare that I sample something made in the crock pot that I don't just love. Mama's apple butter is no exception. It is a perfect balance of tart and sweet. The spices are bold - the way apple butter spices should be. The taste of apple is highlighted brilliantly.
Cooking things in the crock pot is such a favorite way to prepare a meal. I can put something in, with very little regard, first thing in the morning and come home later in the day to wonderful smells. I have no fear that my house will burn down or my food will be ruined. The crock pot cooks at such a low and even temperature that it all comes out perfectly tender when it's time to eat.
When Wayne and I were first married, we went on our honeymoon and then trotted off to Japan. I had already been there teaching English for more than a year, and he came and taught, as well. We did not have the luxury of a normal first year of marriage. We were not close to family and friend who could offer advice - or even a shoulder to cry on when the first fight broke out, etc. The people around us could not speak to us about our heart issues. They wouldn't if they could. It's just not the Japanese way. We couldn't afford to call home. This was before Skype and emails were the thing. Making a telephone call from Japan was somewhere in the vicinity of 600 yen per minute (at that time around $6/min). If we had a struggle, we had to work it out. This is what I like to call our microwave experience. In fact, our entire courtship had been long distance. We had not had the opportunity to get to know each other in a close environment before we were married. The microwave did its job. We were zapped with all sorts of things and had to learn to overcome them quickly.
This is not the typical way that God works in our lives, though. He most often uses the crock pot to get us where He wants us to go. Very few people will ever have instantaneous experiences. God does not choose to touch our lives and bring immediate lightning bolts of sanctification. Instead, He chooses to walk us through the process of the cleansing of our minds, hearts, spirits, emotions in a slow cooker fashion. He brings a tenderness to us that is indicative of His lengthy sustaining works. Sometimes we think that we will never get over the many problems that continue to surface in our lives. The enemy wants to tell us that we have been forgotten and that nothing has changed.
Have you ever opened the lid of your crock pot after a few hours? It looks like raw meat is still sitting in the bottom of the pot. The onions are still crispy and pungent. It really doesn't look like much has happened. In fact, it doesn't look like much has happened until the last hour or so. And then...suddenly...the results are there! There is a cooking and a tenderizing that is visible. The slow even process and the thorough marination of God's presence in our lives renders a beautiful work of grace. Do not be tempted to force God's work in your heart or on the people around you. God will do all things well. Philippians 1:6 reminds us that " I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."
The next time you put something in your crock pot, thank God for the same sort of work that He's doing in your life. We are too eager to say, "Hurry up, Lord!" when we ought to be patient. Our patience allows time for a more thorough, tender outcome.
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