Jesus and the Mess in My Kitchen

I love baking.

There is deep satisfaction to be found in turning measures of simple ingredients into something delicious for my family and friends. Having my hands busy in my familiar kitchen frees my mind to process the things that I’ve been learning and talk to God about them.

One of my go-to recipes is a chocolate marbled banana bread. It starts like any banana bread recipe, but one cup of the batter gets mixed with melted chocolate and the swirled together with the plain batter before baking. It is a big hit around our house.

Recently, I was already doing too many things at once under a tight deadline when I noticed 3 tired-looking bananas with great potential on the counter. I decided to “go for it,” but knew I would have to work quickly to get the bread baked and out of the oven before I needed to leave the house.

In my haste, while mixing the melted chocolate into the batter, I lost my grip on the small glass bowl that I was using. It skittered across the counter, ricocheted off the wall and finally landed on the kitchen floor, flinging sticky chocolate batter all over the place on its way. The bowl shattered into “millions” of tiny squares. Even though I didn’t have time for this extra chore, I got a broom, lots of wet paper towels, and went to work. And since I was still somewhat in my “talk-to-God-while-baking” mindset, He helped me see something powerful.

The condition of my heart determines how easy (or how difficult) it is for God to work in my life.

Had I dropped the same bowl when it was empty, it still would have broken into many tiny pieces, but it would have been a very quick cleanup job; Sweep. Vacuum. Done!

Full of sticky chocolate batter, however, it took many steps to get the mess off the floor (and the walls and the cabinets…) and return things back to normal. I had to wipe, sweep, douse, and repeat – I even ended up having to wash the broom and dustpan! It was definitely a case of “this is going to get worse before it gets better.”

When my heart is attached to the “mess” when I ask God for help with my brokenness, it can be the same way. It isn’t that God’s power is limited by my mess, but more that it is harder for me to accept His forgiveness and his help in moving forward.  On my kitchen floor that day, there were broken parts of the bowl that, though the glass had shattered, were held “somewhat-in-place” by the batter. In order to get to the point where God can really work in my life, I must be willing to let go of my mess, even when – no, especially when it feels like that mess is the only thing holding me together.

Jesus’ shed blood has paved the way for me and you and people everywhere to be washed clean. He patiently rinses, wipes, and sweeps away that which stands in the way of our being vessels He can use. And when we’re broken into bits, he gently and lovingly puts us back together. We only need to be ready to receive his help.

My little bowl is long-gone, and I’ll have to wait for the next perfectly overripe bananas, but my grateful heart better understands the power of redemption and resurrection – and of surrendering completely so God can do His best work.

I want you to know about the great and mighty power that God has for us followers. It is the same wonderful power he used when he raised Christ from death and let him sit at his right side in heaven.
Ephesians 1: 19-20

Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new person.
All that is related to the old order has vanished.
Behold, everything is fresh and new.
2 Corinthians 5:17