Fondue Night Musings

Spend a lifetime of trying to fit into the mold prepared for you, and learn that you are appreciated more when you break that mold…

My son took care of my dog and complemented me on my appearance; my daughter danced with delight and gave me lots of big hugs; my husband cleaned up the kitchen.  And how did this all come about?  I made fondue for dinner.

I am queen of the house right now.  I can do no wrong, and all because I melted cheese in a pan and cubed a baguette.  Well, it was a little more work than that, but it certainly doesn’t seem to merit the attention that I’m receiving (not that I’m going to tell them that…). 

The reason why I’m so lauded is that I have told the family it was a near impossibility that I would make fondue for them, and then I surprised them with the coveted meal on an ordinary Wednesday night.  It’s so fun to be unpredictable, especially because I’m rather predictable.  Doing the unexpected throws them off, makes them think twice about who I am and what I might do.  That’s fun.  But what’s even more fun is seeing their pleasure at receiving a gift they thought was unattainable.

We get so used to the blessings we receive in a day, that sometimes the extraordinary has to occur to remind us what we have been given.  Meatloaf doesn’t get the same attention as fondue, but they are both nourishing and filling.  Having a meal to eat is a blessing, but the unexpected meal highlights the gift.

I do the same thing with God.  It’s easy to overlook the magnitude of blessings that march through my life on a daily basis, just because they always happen.  Or, like vegetable lasagna, they are blessings in disguise.

But the mold-breaking, appreciation-deserving, unpredictable gift of all time has got to be the gift of grace received at the cross and open tomb.  How unexpected!  How amazing!  To stop and remember that this act of love was done for me, with me on the mind of the Creator of the universe!  Just because He wants to have an intimate relationship with me!  Imagine, to have an intimate relationship with my Father was an impossibility because of my sin nature, so He did the unpredictable and sent a part of Himself—his own son—to show me His incredible love for me through His life and example.  Then he topped it all off by reconciling me to Him by dying and resurrecting Himself!

We get jaded to the miracle of the cross and the tomb, but today I am taking a moment to relish it.  

You yourselves are a case study of what he does.  At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got.  But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence.  You don’t walk away from a gift like that!  Col. 1:21-23(MSG)