The days are getting shorter, the nights are significantly cooler and if there’s one cooking appliance that gets to shine over the winter months, it has to be the slow-cooker!
My husband’s favourite slow-cooked meal are lamb shanks that have been infused with herbs and spices and cooked for 8-10 hours until the meat is so tender it effortlessly falls off the bone.
Sounds delicious right?
Now let’s compare this slow-cooked meal to a ready-made microwave one. You know the ones that have an enticing, colourful packet and promises to be tasty and healthy for you. Yes, they are cheaper and super convenient but there’s really no comparison when we think of the fullness of flavour and tenderness the slow cooked lamb shanks have over the zapped, pre-packaged option.
Sure, the slow cooked meal takes a lot longer, but the result is so worth it.
Microwave Mum
Everything with small children takes a lot longer than you think it does.
Getting dressed and out the door sometimes feels like it takes foreverrrr! Even listening to what your child has to say can feel like the grass has grown just a little bit while the conversation has taken place.
I am at times tempted to ‘zap’ my child. To be what I’ll dub, a ‘Microwave Mum’—as in hurry things along and do everything for my child because let’s be honest, it would take about a tenth of the time! But I would be doing a serious disservice to my child if I did everything for him as he wouldn’t learn anything; his skills and character wouldn’t get developed and I shudder at the person he would become.
There are no short cuts
While driving and praying this week I felt God say to me, “There are no short cuts”. This was not just in relation to parenting, but in all aspects of life including my relationship with Him.
The world is so fast-paced, and we can get nearly anything we want, instantly. We aren’t used to waiting. We aren’t used to practicing patience. But I felt God say, “I don’t want microwave kids, I want and need slow-cooked ones”.
Let’s not mistake slow-cooked for burnt out! But God wants his kids (us) to be able to handle the heat (trials of life) and infused with ‘herbs and spices’ (love and mercy) so we can ultimately come out full of flavour (Godly character) and able to live totally surrendered to him.
It takes TIME
God is all powerful, all mighty and could easily do everything for us. But he won’t. Not because he is unkind but rather because he is a loving Father who wants the best for us.
Much like in parenting, we ultimately want the best for our kids and often this means taking the longer path until character is fully developed and lessons are finally learnt.
The Israelites roamed the desert for 40 years for what was only an 11-day journey! (Deuteronomy chapter 1, verses 2-3). Hopefully we are a little faster at learning what God wants to teach us! But it does seem to be a consistent theme all through the bible—the theme of promises taking a long time until they were fulfilled.
For example: Joseph was 17 when he tended to sheep and had dreams of his brothers bowing down to him (see Genesis 37). Yet it took many trials and tribulations and ‘character building’ years such as being sold into slavery, being thrown into prison, being wrongly accused and enduring incredible hardships until his dreams actually came to pass.
Genesis chapter 41 verse 46 tells us Joseph was 30 years old when he was put in charge of the entire land of Egypt and it was sometime after that when his brothers came and bowed before him. So roughly, 15 years after Joseph’s dreams!
Abraham was promised a son when he was 75 years old, yet it took a further 25 years and many lessons and heartache (after trying to do things in their own strength) before Abraham and Sarah had their promised son, Isaac (Genesis chapters 12 to 21).
None of us enjoy trials, yet in James chapter one verses two to four it says:
Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
In verse twelve James says:
God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
God wants us to be ‘slow-cooked kids’; well developed, mature, strong in our faith and one with Him. He promises us the crown of life and that’s a promise worth holding on to!
Jo Fuller lives on the beautiful Sunshine Coast with her husband, son and baby daughter. She loves nature, books, writing, tea and spending time with her family.
Her archive of articles may be viewed at https://www.pressserviceinternational.org/jo-fuller.html