BY DAWN REED
Slaw makes me really nervous. Wait. That is not exactly right. Making slaw makes me really nervous. I do not have a set recipe. Oh, I know exactly what goes in it, but the ingredients are not exactly measured. When I make slaw, I add a scoop of mayo, a sprinkling of sugar, a slosh of vinegar, and a dab of oil. After stirring it all together, I mix in a bunch of shredded cabbage and carrots. I want it to be sooo good. If the taste is not right, I add a little more mayo, a bit more sugar, maybe a swish this time of vinegar to make it just right. By the time I am finished, I have tasted so much of it, I do not have room for dinner. It would be easier if I had a precise recipe.
Other things I cook or bake have a structured measure of ingredients. Tablespoons of this, a fourth or half a cup of that. It is beautiful science that goes together to be consistent.
It took me forever to learn to make gravy because it was not measured and written down. Older ladies who tried to teach me used pinches of this and dashes of that. Is a pinch a half a teaspoon? Is a dash more or less than that? I nearly gave up. The Lord blessed and now, I have a specific and measured way to do it.
One thing I will never be able to measure is the love of my Heavenly Father. I am thankful every day for His presence and His faithfulness. Growing up, I knew more about church rules than being the church. There was more condemnation than compassion. I did not realize God was for me instead of against me. When I messed up, and boy, I did, I thought He could not forgive me. While I know and treasure Bible verses like Jeremiah 29:11 now, back then I did not realize they were intended for me. Maybe you, of course you, but for me, not so much. And I never, not even once, read Zephaniah 3:17. That God could take great delight over me? And want to sing over me? It still makes my eyes water.
The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the people at Ephesus from prison. I do not ever want to forget that. When his life was hard and nearing the end, he used his time to encourage others. In Ephesians 3:14-19, he told the people he had been praying for them. Praying that they would be rooted in love, and that they would be able to grasp “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” From prison, Paul wanted them to know that the love of Christ is immeasurable.
Paul finished with: “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” He really can do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine.
John wrote in 1 John 3:1: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” I do not think you can measure “lavished love.”
In Psalm 103:12, David wrote about God’s forgiveness, “He has taken our sins away from us as far as the east is from the west.” Cannot measure that, either.