Lessons from a Marshmallow

Last night I had my sweet girlies over for a s'mores night for devotions time.  It has been planned for a very long time, but never seems to work out because of rain or baseball, or something else that seems to get in the way.  Tonight it worked out  - most likely because it was so last minute.

We had the perfect fire - in my new fire table, that I just love.  We had the perfect marshmallows - Kraft Jet Puff.  Those cheap generic brands never work out!  We had Caramilk and Aeros and chocolate cookies to squish the sweetness between.

Creating S'mores is an art.  There are good and bad ways to approach a fire when toasting.  The bad way is to just get right in the fire and watch as the flames engulf the poor defenseless marshmallow resulting in a charred mass of burnt sugar.  I know, there are some that prefer this outcome (their sanity I question) but my sources say that these are cancer causing...so definitely bad.  The good way is to, first of all, have the perfect fire - the coals at just the right temperature.  Good toasting takes time and patience.  It takes a careful hand, rotating the stick at the perfect speed to get that even browning.  A good marshmallow will end up twice its size if properly done, resulting in a golden brown, slightly crunchy outside with a warm and soft centre - perfect for melting that sweet piece of chocolate..creating the masterpiece.

Later that night I was thinking about that marshmallow and how it is so much like life.  I often have those fires that flare up - the uncomfortable, undesirable events that occur.  Many times - I'm like that bad marshmallow.  I am immediately consumed by the situation - overcome by the circumstances, leaving me a pretty useless, charred mess.  How much better is it to be that other marshmallow.  Rather than being destroyed by the fire, to use it.  Yes, it still hurts.  All fire does.  But it doesn't have to destroy.  Sometimes the fire - unpleasant as it can be - can help us to soften, to melt and to change us into something pretty incredible.  It takes time.  It takes patience.  It takes the skillful hand of the Master, whose desire is not to destroy but to create more out of us...

S'more...