banana muffins

I was talking to a friend today about how one of my children struggles with a particular board game because it's hard for him to change up his strategy in real time. If he's working toward buying a development card, it's hard for him to see that if he has wood, brick, and sheep he may need to work toward a settlement instead. He has in his head where he's going and he's still developing the thinking skills needed to alter the plan on a dime based on the ever-changing resources in his hands.

It happened to me with my grocery availability today... the story is long and there are a number of factors but finally I decided I was just going to make supper work with what I had in my refrigerator. When I got outside of my original plan a little bit and thought more creatively based on what I had to work with, I could see God's provision for our day in a million tiny ways. But I had to get outside my plan.

A few weeks ago I walked on a beach with a friend and told her how God has made me confident in a certain decision in my life based on what He has provided. There's a certain commitment in our lives that I sometimes feel unsure about, but every year God has given me an ebenezer that assures me that He is still working for us in this commitment. She wondered aloud if maybe she needed to start looking for those ebenezers in her own life. And I'm wondering to myself sitting right here right now why I sometimes just cannot remember those ebenezers when I start to doubt or lose trust. I have to get outside of my plan and see what is actually given to me with new eyes. I have to look for God's provision. We do not always do that automatically. But often once I have expanded my brain to think outside of what I was expecting or hoping for or planning on a little bit, I can't NOT see God's provision.

There is a certain satisfaction that I get when I put a meal on the table, knowing that I used what I had and turned it into something. There's times when I just sit there and I thank God for whatever circumstances led me to shove that 1 1/2 cups of some random meat in the back of the freezer a couple months ago, just waiting for this moment to shine. Honestly I think my lack of meal planning turns supper prep into a little bit of a creative pursuit and that's why I end up liking it so much. Of course, there are other times that I get frustrated at myself for my lack of planning. But always, always, always -- if I seek the good and look for the provision and focus on thankfulness, it's there.

If it's black bananas that we have, then banana muffins we make. And it turns out, that actually works better than chocolate chip muffins for a variety of reasons anyway.