~ Written by Daily Inspirations Contributing Writer Sarah Fine ~
I almost burnt the house down last Thanksgiving.
Okay, so that’s an overstatement, but I’m sure it could have been ugly had I been away from the stove for ten seconds longer than I was.
Picture this: November of 2010. An absolutely gorgeous Thanksgiving Day has risen upon cool and sunny Southern California. If it’s one thing my family does on Thanksgiving, it’s food, and LOTS of it. Most of us wake up before the sun and start cooking something. We always make the main staples of our Thanksgiving feast, such as turkey, stuffing, roasted veggies, but every year, one of us likes to mix things up a bit by trying something new. Normally, whenever we try something and like it, we’ll do it again the next year, and if we really like it, we’ll have it again on Christmas.
Last year, I had the bright idea to “wing” a sweet potato casserole. After all, I’d seen enough Food Network specials on how to cook one, how hard could it be?
He. Hehe. Hehehe…
Anyway, so there I was, in the kitchen, Thanksgiving Day, an hour before dinnertime, trying to be Ms. Martha Stewart and make a sweet potato casserole.
Now, I’m not out to toot my own horn, but I’d like to think I’m a fairly good cook. My mom works late nights a lot of the time, so I cook dinner for the family at least four nights a week. Not to mention lunches and breakfast (I was homeschooled –I learned how to make an omelet before I knew what Algebra was.)
As I shoved the casserole into the oven that day, I had no clue what would await me. 40 minutes into cooking, I opened up a bag of store bought marshmallows, threw some on top, set the broiler on high and walked away from the stove. Yes. I walked away.
Cooking Lesson #1: When making a sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on top, NEVER EVER walk away with the broiler on.
“Make sure you keep an eye on that, Sarah” my mother would warn me, “it won’t take long for them to get brown.”
“I know” I said sweetly, secretly thinking, “pssh, I know what I’m doing…”
Well, I walked into my room and only expected to be in there for a few moments before I went to pull the casserole out. I must have gotten sidetracked somehow *COUGHCOUGH*facebook*COUGHCOUGH* because as I walked into the kitchen a few minutes later, with smoke pouring from the stove and that delightful smell of gas and flames in the air, I was greeted to my mother screaming “SARAH!!!”
Oops.
I opened the oven and watched as a roaring fire ignited my delicious side dish into sweet potatoes from hell.
Frantic, everyone in the kitchen turned off the oven and watched as I took an oven mitt and slammed it atop the casserole trying to extinguish the flames. In a matter of seconds, I went from having something delicious and turned into it something completely inedible. My casserole was dead. Thankfully, because no one was hurt and nothing was damaged too badly (except my pride), my whole family found it appropriate to laugh at the whole mess all throughout dinner.
You remember how Charlie Brown felt when he found out all Snoopy had made for Thanksgiving dinner was popcorn and toast? Yeah, well that was me for about the first ten minutes at dinner. ‘This isn’t funny!’ I thought to myself, ‘I could have set the house on FIRE! I could have killed someone!’
It wasn’t long however, before the sourpuss in me got over it and enjoyed herself that night. Needless to say though, I don’t think I’ll EVER be walking away from the broiler EVER again.
It’s funny how God can take situations like this, whether they are far more drastic or even far less, and turn them into an opportunity to remind you of His faithfulness.
Truth is, had I been away from the stove for a minute longer, the fact of an actual fire happening was very real. Only, stuff like this happens to us every day, we’re just not always aware of it. Imagine how many people you avoided yesterday with ill intentions and nothing happened, imagine how many car accidents you’ve avoided today. I’m not saying this because I think we have a bunch of stuff to fear, (I’d rather die and know I lived than live and act like I’m dead), I’m saying this because sometimes it takes a backseat perspective to realize how much we have to be thankful for.
Thanksgiving is in a few weeks. Crazy, but true, and as much as I love all the parades, food, football, family and fun that goes along with it, I’m one of those people who can get so easily caught up with all the “stuff,” that I forget WHY the holiday exists in the first place.
Last year, a flaming casserole brought it to my attention.
I had A LOT to be thankful for as I went to bed that night. A full belly, a warm bed, and a roof over my head. In a matter of moments, all of that could have been gone. It shouldn’t have taken something so petty to remind me of that on Thanksgiving of all days, but it did.
Hebrews 13:15 says “Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”
“Continually” isn’t a one time thing. When you run water from a faucet, it runs continually. It doesn’t stop running till you shut it off. The word continually means “regularly without interruption”, which is exactly what I believe this scripture implies when it comes to giving thanks.
It shouldn’t have to take something like a near death experience for us to realize how good we have it. We may not drive fancy cars or wear designer clothing, but if we have the ability to get around and look nice, then we have something to thank God for. His providence in our lives requires a steadfast, continual attitude of thanks. This doesn’t always mean we’re going to feel like it. Sometimes I don’t “feel” like doing the laundry, but I do it anyway because it’s required. I live by what I “feel”, I have to live by what I know. The same applies to giving thanks.
God is continually faithful, when we see it and when we can’t, that alone is worth thanking Him for. Not just every 4th Thursday of the year, but EVERY day of our lives.
If you gave someone money to pay their bills and didn’t thank you for it until they needed more money, how would that make you feel? God doesn’t want a vending machine relationship, He wants to be acknowledged. We have SO much to be thankful for. The smallest blessing is His way of reminding us He will forever have our back, that’s His promise to us.
I want to encourage all of you as we enter into the Thanksgiving season, to not just get wrapped up in the “stuff” it has to offer. All those things are fun and we’re totally meant to enjoy them, but at the root of it, comes the reality that we have a God who deserves our thanks. Not only for everything He has done in our lives, but all He will continue to do.
Don’t let thankfulness become a “one-day-a-year” attitude that happens when you “feel” like it or when you’re forced to remember, but instead, let it be like a faucet out of your lives continually before God.
Love, Blessings, Pancakes, and Sprinkles,
–Sarah
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