Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Little Lessons ~ In the Kitchen

It's been quite a while since I did a Little Lessons post. I started doing them because so often ordinary little things in life make me think of deeper things. It has often provided topics for discussion with our children some of which I decided to share with you.
 
 
 
When putting dishes away and eyeing our rag tag assortment of pots and pans the girls were discussing how they think complete sets of cookware would be so much nicer than what we have.

Instead of putting the few away that we had just finished drying I opened the cupboard and pulled out the rest of the assortment.

They didn't make the nicest picture. There's one that had its lid broken years ago, there's a small one with a big handle, and another one with no handle at all. Another one has a small dent in the side. There's a tiny one that doesn't look very useful, but gets used every single day to make a single serving of oatmeal for LV for breakfast, and the others while they don't match anything have their own purpose.

I told the girls to look at them again and think of all the delicious foods we have prepared in them already. Every meal we have ever prepared in our home was thanks in part to this motley assortment of pots and pans. When I look at these pots and pans I don't think of the less than perfect thing they are, but what they can do for me.

I took it a step further and reminded them, just as these imperfect items are so important to our family. God also uses imperfect things for His purpose. Misfits and imperfect people are what He uses to do His work and build His kingdom. He uses the broken, bruised, the misfits, and those that appear to have everything together. They all work for His glory.

The pots and pans were placed back into the cupboard carefully and the door closed gently. They had served another purpose other than preparing food today. A little lesson for my daughters that I'm hoping they'll carry with them for a long time.

11 comments:

  1. My pots and pans cupboard is a 'classroom' I can teach a little lesson similar to yours.
    Beautiful post, thanks for sharing!
    Blessings,

    Jeanneke.

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  2. My son is staying with us for a week. As always, he has checked the cutlery drawer to see if the old, red-handled knife, rolling pin and ancient pastry cutters were still there. They are the only things that he hopes to inherit as they represent the happiest times of his childhood, warm and cosy in the kitchen, playing with scraps of pastry whilst I cooked. I offered to give them to him years ago but he didn' want them yet as they make coming to visit feel like 'coming home.'
    I love your little lessons. It is not only your children who are given something to think about as a result of each one.

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  3. Thanks for showing me to find God's teachable moments for my children and for myself. Never thought of doing it this way before :)

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  4. What a wonderful lesson for all of us. Tahini you.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  5. That is good stuff, Mary Ann. There is a lid with a broken handle on one of my soup kettles right now, and every time I cook with it I think I need to replace it. Then, I actually cook in it and the broken handle doesn't seem important anymore. It's a reminder we all can use.

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  6. I feel like you peeked into my cupboard ... and into my life as well :-) I had to replace a glass lid that shattered (to my stock pot) and the new one doesn't fit... I make do and it works.

    My Dutch oven no longer has a lid, nor does one saucepan - another saucepan was burned beyond recognition but I still have the lid (smaller than others) but it fits another small pan. These were from a set Bill's parents got us when we were first married 40 years ago. My cupboard has been "outfitted" a few times in the past 40 years with newer items here and there, but I find myself going back to my old faithful friends... I did inherit most of my mom's Revere Wear and have been using it a bit more. Sometimes I need all of my saucepans, especially for a big dinner, like Thanksgiving ... ooooh! It's coming quickly!!

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  7. A beautifully written post and a great lesson for all. I have a very small, odd assortment of pans these days. As I have grown older, I simply keep the ones that serve me best. Also, with age, I have seen time and again how God uses each of us in different ways.

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  8. Thank you for sharing, it's a great lesson to remember and to pass on!

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment. I love hearing your thoughts.