Makin' Pies

I wonder what God feels like when He looks down on his creations.

There is something really special about that feeling of accomplishment when I've created something and it turns out just the way I wanted it.  I'm a craftaholic and kind of obsessed when it comes to making anything with my hands. We'll focus today's creation on the best apple pie I've ever made.

If you've ever made a pie you know the detail and attention it takes to be sure that it turns out just perfect. It HAS to start with good apples. You can't expect a tasty pie to come from crummy fruit.

So here I am ignoring the squishy bruised and brown ones on the ground, taste testing to find the right kind for our homebaked filling. Once the apples are collected they have to be peeled and sliced evenly and mixed up with a top secret blend of sugar and spice.

 

The crust is especially finicky. It requires the ideal blend of flour, cold water, and shortening, and then comes the kneading! You have to mix and blend it enough, but if you do too much it will be tough. Rolling out the crusts has to be done with gentle care to make sure that it's all even and turns out in a big enough circle.

 

And then once you think your work is done, the hard part comes. WAITING! It has to bake for an hour that seems like 100 years and cooling is an eternity. The tantalizing smell that wafts out of the oven is like a moment of heaven on earth. This face says "I just don't have it in me! Don't make me wait any longer!!!"

So back to wondering what God feels like when He looks down at us. I think the heavens and the Earth were a little bit more tricky to create than a pie. Make that a whole lot trickier. Luckily He had the fact that He is God on His side and some help from Jesus Christ. His creations (including US) are absolutely perfect in their own right.

 I asked someone the other day how they can tell that God loves us. She said "Well look right out that window at what He's created for us! Isn't that enough to feel His love?"

Even though God knew we weren't going to be perfect (kind of like my pinch edges on our pie) He created the perfect place for us to live. He allows us to make our own choices. Often we're ridiculous and choose the cruddy ground fruit to bake into our celestial desserts. He is kind an loving and teaches us how to be better and measure up to our potential. He teaches us to stretch our arms up higher to reach the perfect fruit.

When we succeed I'm sure it thrills Him more than we understand!

And when we are struggling (like I am with waiting patiently for this double crusted dessert to cool) He is always there to be our strenght and support. Our Heavenly Father is the Master Pastry Chef and the pies that He's baking for us up in Heaven are going to be worth the wait. We just need to keep picking the apples down here :)