I mix and stir, pour blueberries into crust, create a lattice top {my first ever!] then stand back and smile. In a last-minute bit of inspiration, I decide to add almond flavoring to the berries. I like to have almonds with blueberries in my oatmeal so surely this is a wonderful idea. I text a photo of the dessert to my husband so we can both anticipate the first bite together.
Only that first bite isn’t quite what I’d imagined. That almond flavoring? Wow. A little goes a looooonnnnngggg way.
It’s a classic Holley cooking mistake. I remember making perfectly delicious macaroni and cheese as a kid. Then I decided to add tuna and salsa to the horror of my family.
I’ve put random ingredients in soups just to see what happens. And usually this is what happens: no one wants to eat it.
I’ve incorporated extra things into a bread recipe it turned out so wrong that even the dog spit out her piece {yes, really}.
Here’s the thing that always confuses me: whatever I’m adding is perfectly fine. When I put almond flavoring in a cookie recipe that calls for it the results are divine. It’s not that what I’m throwing in isn’t bad: it’s just not what fits best.
I can look at my life and see the same pattern. My closest friends would tell you about this me: Holley knows how to complicate her own life at times. 🙂 Oh, yes, I do. I’ll have a plan {a recipe} that has been thought through, prayed out, and is ready to go. And then I add extra stuff to it. Not bad stuff. Just unnecessary stuff. Stuff that stresses me out, wears me down, and makes me want to eat even more dessert because I’m so dang exhausted.
God is slowly teaching me the beauty of simplicity. I used to think that simplicity meant a lack of something. Now I’m discovering it’s actually when you figure out what’s “just right.” Not perfect–but what fits best for this season, this plan, this project, this pie.
Simplicity is anything but simple. It’s actually the hardest of all. The two alternative {do nothing or do everything} are a whole lot easier because simplicity requires living intentionally and doing a lot of listening. The other day I was about to say “yes” to something that didn’t fit my mission at all and in my heart I heard two words: “Almond flavoring.” I knew exactly what that meant. {And I appreciated that God loves me enough to use dessert analogies with me at times.}
I’m slowly learning simplicity deserves more respect than I tend to give it.
So do recipes.
The next pie is gonna be better. Want to come over for a simply wonderful slice?
XOXO
Holley
