Today, I was making a meal for a dear friend, and congregant who has been out due to a knee replacement.  I decided to make one of my signature dishes, Eggplant Parmesan.  It was the first dish I ever made with Eggplant and it was this dish that made me love eggplant.  So as I began to prep and get everything ready, I was tempted to take little bites here and there.

When I cook in the kitchen, I usually would eat bits and pieces of the meal that I am making.  If I’m making meatloaf, I’ll sample some of the beef, and onions.  If I’m making grilled cheese, I’ll take a pinch of the shredded cheese and eat it.  So when it came time to make the eggplant, I wanted to eat it.  take a sample of the finished eggplant product to eat, eat a sample of fresh mozzarella, and the fresh grated Parmesan.

The thing that really tempted me was the smell.  It was that smell that really wanted to dive right into it or make another batch for myself.  It was in that moment that I began to really pray hard. Not praying for myself to not dive into the meal, but I began to pray for people, the church, wisdom, direction.  But the main thing I prayed for was to be still and wait.  As I mentioned earlier in this journey I am a bit impulsive, and waiting is not my strong suit.  But waiting is a discipline that must be mastered to wait on the Lord.

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)