“Harder Than It Looks” (11/10/2025)

This weekend, I made a quiche which started with a pie crust. As I was rolling out the dough, I remembered the first time I ever made a pie crust. I taught myself. And I found myself smiling as I whispered to myself, “It’s harder than it looks!”

I found the recipe in my cookbook, and it looked simple enough. But I learned quickly that reading a recipe and actually creating the item are two separate things. It took me some time, perhaps a year, to make a pie crust from scratch that turned out like it should, flaky, moist, the perfect pinched rim, and the golden color. It’s a simple thing, but it is harder than it looks.

I find myself repeating that phrase almost daily about other things in life. I get a little bold and impudent at times, sure that “I’ve got this!” and then I overeat or overspend or overcommit or oversleep. And with humility I have to admit, “I don’t ‘got this’!”

When that happens, I think of Jesus and His first sermon and how it begins: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” I need the LORD in my life, in my days, in my mind and heart. I need his love and the guidance of the Spirit. There is much that I am called to be and so much that I am gifted and called to do, but it is all because of my relationship with the LORD from whom I come and to whom I am trying to return. Love of the LORD is the only lens through which life makes sense.

Isn’t it marvelous how the LORD can use the simplest ingredients – flour, butter and water – to remind we complex beings of truths. Amazing.

As we journey through this life, when we find ourselves struggling, let us draw from the example of our beloved Jesus Christ who was like us in all ways except sin. Let us recognize the need for prayer, the need for a strong relationship with our LORD, the source of all goodness. Let us allow the Spirit to guide us. And let us never fail to admit that we need guidance and His love.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.