Wednesday 13 April 2011

Here comes the sun...


Today has been tiring after an early (and therefore grumpy!) morning with a not-quite-2-yr-old, but it’s April and birthday month so can’t stay grumpy or tired for too long!! I love this month, not only for all the birthdays that come at the end (not only my own but so many good friends and lovely family members too!) but for all the signs of summer: the wearing of summer skirts without tights; the flip-flops/sandals and painted toe nails; the ability to leave the house without my scarf; the green trees and LOADs of other stuff that just reminds us that summer is coming… 

If you’ve been watching my FB statuses or spent time with me recently you’ll know that I’ve really got into baking in the past month. It’s not something I’ve been particularly partial to previously so it’s rather exciting. Jon says I’m finally becoming the perfect housewife!! Cupcakes are good… Red Velvet ones even better!! I have been trying to work out how I can send cake in the post as most of the friends and family with birthdays do not live in deliverable distance… Maybe I should order some from the Hummingbird Bakery to find out how they do it?! I have really found baking addictive, very therapeutic and satisfying. And in following the right recipe, I’m quite good at it! I’m sure there’s a lesson in there somewhere…

Another thing that’s taken my attention this last month is the garden.  Although we don’t have much ‘garden’ at home what we have got needs tending, unlike the grass we had at the old place which largely you can just cut and leave! I’ve planted potatoes, onions, garlic, spinach and mint in our front veg patches and then loads of flowers in the other beds and pots round the other sides. I’m rather impatient with it mind and want the flowers to appear SOON! But hoping the wait will be worth it. I suspect there’s a lesson in there too…

So (to borrow a phrase from a friend!), lessons from the domesticity of life: when we’re new to baking staying close to the recipe results in success. It’s only when we learn the real basics of how to bake that we can go off-the-page! True too in faith, sticking close to the Bible’s words will give us success. As our relationship with God grows so our understanding of His word deepens and it can appear that we’re going off-the-page (like all analogies it's a little tenuous when stretched!)! And when tending to our gardens we learn about the promise of good things being something we need to wait for without expecting instant results. And that just about transfers directly methinks!