After a recent storm, I was sad to
discover the wind had brought down a lemon-laden branch. It had very literally been torn from the tree
and lay limp among a carpet of storm debris on the ground. The trunk bore the
scar: a long white strip peeled from its living layer, evidence of the missing
limb, and a hole in the foliage left the tree looking a little lopsided. I was
sad!
Cutting the ripe lemons from the
branch, I brought them inside, and having no immediate need for them, they went
in the pantry. There they stayed for several weeks, in fact long after the vandalous
act of nature was forgotten.
This evening we’re having guests and
I decided a lemon soufflé would be a nice addition to the dinner menu. Out came
the flour, the sugar, the eggs, some milk, a little butter and then... the main
ingredient…a very large lemon from my pantry, large enough to take the place of
the two needed in the recipe.
Cooking a well-known recipe gives me time to think,
and this morning as I mixed and folded, my thoughts drifted to the enormous lemon,
the fruit of the storm. How wonderful that
the storm's carnage need not be wasted, instead the main ingredient in something wonderful!
We all encounter ‘storms’ from time
to time, and I remembered a storm that came my way a year or two ago. Actually it
felt a little more like a hurricane at the time! Looking back, I recalled
talking to God very often during those difficult days. I also remembered asking
Him to help me not to waste the experience, to help me learn something valuable from it.
At the time it seemed a strange ask but I didn't want the pain to be fruitless.
Looking back, I can see I learned
many things from those difficult days, and I am grateful!
That day after the storm there didn't seem any immediate use for the lemons. It seemed a waste. However in time, one
large lemon became an essential ingredient in something wonderful.
I wonder if it’s easier to bear
difficulties and pain if we feel the trials have some ultimate purpose. That’s
not to say they are caused for a purpose. However, if they bear fruit, they are
not wasted, and something good comes from the pain.
I'm very much looking forward to the
good that has come from the storm we encountered a few weeks ago, and tonight I
know I'm going to especially enjoy the delicious lemon flavour of the soufflé!
