How did this happen?

This must be a very special gift - for I certainly haven't had it until now. I can cook, this is true - at least the basics. My preference and gifting has always been toward baking. But I can't very well serve cinnamon rolls and pie for dinner each night!

I've been struggling to cook since I've been married. And failing pretty spectacularly. But then I began to realize that my dinnertime goals were too high: all my husband has asked for is that 1) it is made and 2) that it contain some form of meat, his favorite being whatever is least seasoned/messed with. (Perhaps easy on the number of casseroles..... one of the few main dishes I am proficient in. :P ) But I also added the need to make everything without recipes, which was an absurd effort to cook like Mary. My intention was good - I knew that Husband liked the way that Mary and Ma cook, but I somehow forgot that Ma has been practicing for thirty-something married years and Mary has a brilliant talent for it. And I may have over-estimated my own ability. Check that - I most definitely did.

I've turned out a few respectable meals this year under my own guidelines, but for the most part I've felt and tasted disappointment. It rubs the salt even more: my husband is a gifted cook in his own right and thoroughly enjoys cooking. [For all those who loathed me in my childhood for being the best at everything: my comeuppance has arrived in a matrimonial and rather permanent fashion.]

Add to this that I am rather clumsy in the kitchen, dyslexic with measurements, and quite scatterbrained whilst juggling the process of dinner. It's a wonder I can cook anything at all. :P

And yet I seem to have been blessed in these past two weeks as I realize my shortcomings, ask for forgiveness for my pride, and seek to cook dinner in a way that honors the Lord and serves my family. I reorganized my cookbook, and now cook unashamedly with recipes, new and old. Too, I am forced to streamline and not over think, because there is a little one who has to be minded in the next room over.... who has gotten into the habit of fussing and not taking a nap during meal prep time. So I'm in and out of the kitchen, and truly, hardly looking at what I throw into pots and pans. But somehow it turns out delicious, on time, and in the case of this pudding, absolutely beautiful! (Sorry, have to brag on the this pudding - it's one of the prettiest I've ever made!)

I am glad that I can, by God's grace, cook tasty meals. I am glad He showed me where I had blindly followed my pride instead of humbly asking for His help.

Tonight: Crockpot Orange Pineapple Chicken over Fried Rice with Homemade Applesauce and Banana Pudding. :)