Cooks In Kitchens

Adia

by Sarah Machlaughlin

Listen Here

...There's no one here to blame
There's no one left to talk to, honey
And there ain't no one to buy our innocence

'Cause we are born innocent
Believe me Adia, we are still innocent
It's easy, we all falter
Does it matter?

Adia I thought that we could make it
But I know I can't change the way you feel
I leave you with your misery
A friend who won't betray
I pull you from your tower
I take away your pain
And show you all the beauty you possess
If you'd only let yourself believe that

We are born innocent
Believe me Adia, we are still innocent
It's easy, we all falter, does it matter?...

Sometimes cooking together is very messy, and sometimes things burn; other times the food is tasty and we are so glad. There are days that the sight of the 'kitchen' is terrifying! Without courage to experiment, at times we turn away; it just seems so hot in there. The kitchen may be a metaphor for one's life.
 Boiling water, burnt fingers, we imagine our self unappreciated.
But truly we are innocent. Innocence in the sense of a good gift given and received; innocent that we are free of guile or cunning; innocent that we are honest in dealing with one another. Innocent in the Simple way. Powerfully innocent in divinity.

What  happens in the kitchen, that central place in our daily life? Mostly good. It came to me over time, that a person may simply be a gift. An amazing gift to me by the Holy Spirit. How else could it be?
How could I refuse such a gift? While not perfect, we are very lovable. This proves a great help to me. It's my hope I am mostly a help in return, if a clumsy one. And like all gifts, those freely given and freely received, may be freely withdrawn, the 'free will' thing. The Spirit does not force anything; it can be surrendered.

This gift given me, cannot be shamed. Some may not understand; some may be jealous, but owing to the Original Giver, we cannot be shamed. Truly we are innocents.
The light of the Spirit is all knowing and I have, often in extreme anxiety, followed its lead, honoring  and respecting what I cannot always know or understand.

Among the things I have always discerned is the gift of love, sometimes soft, sometimes tough. It gives courage to go on and on. I could not have had instances of more beauty and wonder in my life without such great gifts as these.
The Bible tells a bit about the gifts of the Spirit, about the light to the world. Keep your courage, engage patience when in darkness, follow the light in your life, as did the disciple Mark 10:14: "Let the little children come to me."

Gracious

"The scent was intoxicating; it filled me full, madly, wildly, deeply and I was transported still again"

Because You Loved Me

by Celine Dion

Listen Here

For all those times you stood by me 

For all the truth that you made me see 

For all the joy you brought to my life 

For all the wrong that you made right 

For every dream you made come true 

For all the love I found in you 

I'll be forever thankful baby 

You're the one who held me up 

Never let me fall 

You're the one who saw me through through it all 

You were my strength when I was weak 

You were my voice when I couldn't speak 

You were my eyes when I couldn't see 

You saw the best there was in me 

Lifted me up when I couldn't reach 

You gave me faith because you believed 

I'm everything I am 

Because you loved me... 

Maybe I don't know that much 

But I know this much is true 

I was blessed because I was loved by you 

You were always there for me 

The tender wind that carried me 

A light in the dark shining your love into my life 

You've been my inspiration 

Through the lies you were the truth 

My world is a better place because of you 

I'm everything I am 

Because you loved me

Gratitude. There it is; I've said it and many, many others have also. Maybe it's not been said as poignantly as the song lyrics state, but all the same, it's there.
Just yesterday a wind suddenly blew cool and clear; I inhaled and was filled with the merest whiff of a scent, borne on the wind. It recalled to me the times when I was needing a hand up and help from a kindred soul, one more alike than different.
The scent was intoxicating; it filled me full, madly, wildly, deeply and I was transported still again to the first meeting years ago to one who would be, for me, my help. I could not have known it then, but the winds of change were there, unmistakably there. Like it or not. And most of us tend to the 'don't like it.' The world is not static. It changes, sometimes quite rapidly. Sometimes we're ready to meet those challenges, sometimes not so much. 

For others changes mean depression, lasting and deep; yet it was through the saddest of eyes that my heart first leaped and the sense of hope rose. It rose high, like a kite soaring through the sky, and you were there. Even when against the wind, you were. In the end, after all was done, done mostly well, my life changed for the better because of you, a voice, an inspiration, because I could see through the lies to a truth that was always there.
And because you never truly let me fall. Listen carefully; the words are there. They've always been there. There is one who is come into the world, one who sees and who redeems all. We are blessed and truly innocent, starting anew.