The Icing and the Cake

I put away most of our Christmas decorations yesterday.  The artificial greenery. Fake snow. Shiny ornaments.  Glistening angels.

The house is stripped down to bare essentials.  Well, there is definitely more – a lot more - than bare essentials, but we have gained some space and lost some clutter.

It actually feels good to have room to breathe.

I hold a beautiful ornament and admire its intricacy and design.  There is a time and a place for its presence in my life. But I realize that I don’t want my life to be just about nice pretties. That there is so much more to life than nice pretties.

Joy and happiness, peace and comfort are fierce contenders for the top of my priority list. Sometimes, I pigeon-hole the life’s entirety into their narrow confines. But, when I step back I realize that God’s design includes but doesn’t revolve around these.

They are the icing on the cake, but not the cake itself.

The cake asks for the bowl and the beater. The timer and the heat.

The making of the cake includes some unglamorous, boring ingredients – like flour and oil, water and eggs, baking soda and salt. Vanilla extract and sugar.  

The making of life is not much different. It takes patience and kindness.

Faithfulness and respect.

Forgiveness and hope.

Love and grace.

The words of truth.

The Spirit of God.

The Master Cook Himself in our midst.

And the icing?

Sure! Lather it on!

But, it’s all of it together, timed and measured, mixed and balanced that goes into the making of a great cake.

Now bring in the fork!