Thanks for Breakfast

Gabby & Greta always eagerly anticipate Monday and Tuesday mornings. These are the mornings that Ben spoils them with wonderful breakfast creations. These are the mornings that they don't have to make their own breakfasts. These are the mornings that they get a respite from making breakfast for their mom.

My philosophy has always been to create independent people who know how to take care of themselves, and the kitchen seemed to be a fabulous place to nurture that philosophy. Also, I hate to cook.

On the eves of these days, the girls will usually attempt to agree on a menu for the following morning. Pancakes? What nationality of pancake? Swedish? German? Maybe waffles. Should there be blueberries or chocolate chips in them? How about eggs and bacon? A side of hash browns might be nice. The choices are endless, and the process of narrowing down the options can be grueling. Once a decision has been made, they present their selections to their Chef. Chef then promises that the house will be filled with the fragrance of their particular selection by the time they wake up.

On the eve of this particular Tuesday, the girls had agreed upon coffee cake for their next breakfast. Chef makes a mean coffee cake. It has taken years to perfect. He has experimented with many different combinations of ingredients. We have been served a few coffee cakes over the years that we thoroughly enjoyed, and others that we thoroughly enjoyed throwing away. But he has finally perfected his own unique recipe. This was what we anxiously anticipated this wonderful Tuesday morning.

As promised, the house was filled with the aroma of cinnamon and sugar as the girls emerged from their rooms at the crack of 9:30. They always remind me of those old WB cartoons, where the cat or dog would be lured by a scent and float along the scented trail in mid-air toward the luscious source. Chef lovingly takes the coffee cake out of the oven and greets his girls, so glad to be with them and to cook for them. Chef is happy.

"There's not enough topping."

Whose mouth did that come from? What a horrible thing to say! I can't believe I made that thoughtless comment! I can't believe I influenced my girls' opinions of Chef's masterpiece. They quickly agreed with what I had said.

Chef calmly said, "Don't worry. I think you will like it."

Pessimistically, we made our way to the table to eat the not-enough-topping coffee cake. As I cut and served the cake, Chef (who selflessly makes this, but can never eat it due to his low-carb lifestyle) looks over us with a slight smile on his face. Bite by wonderful bite, we realized why he smiled as he did. Chef had planted all the topping on the inside of the cake. It was glorious! Chef was happy. The girls were happy. I was in love.

I feel like God is always cooking something up in my life. He is the Master Chef. But too often I counter His creation with, "There's not enough topping!" As I've experienced more and more of God's work in my life, I realize that the "topping" is usually where we least expect it. But it's always there. God is good. All the time.

Thanks for breakfast.