My microwave has had enough. It promptly blew itself up as I attempted to heat a bowl of tomato soup. It made an impolite growl, let off an offending burning smell and spewed angry blue sparks, causing this somewhat startled mother-of-five to immediately remove my daughter’s tea from its frothing metal mouth. My kitchen was trying to tell me something. I had been attacked by too many angry objects in the past few days.
Only yesterday, to prevent a bag of carrots from turning into frozen orange fingers against the back of the fridge, I had to pull myself up to my full height of 5ft, and reach in to pull them out. They didn’t thank me; instead I was violently assaulted by a glass jar of mango chutney and a plastic squirty bottle of salad cream. The chutney smashed, spluttering its contents and broken glass all over my foot, just before the salad cream’s plastic bottom split and emptied its fetching yellow "goo" so it oozed between my toes.
Only minutes before, my oldest twin three-year-old had managed to deliberately swipe at a cold mug of coffee as I picked her up, causing it to cascade down my leg and cough all over the newly painted cream wall. My foot now smelt of coffee, mango and salad cream. If that wasn’t enough, the freezer decided to take it out on me as well. As I lifted the chest lid, and suspended myself over the edge to reach three individual frozen pizzas, it caught me in its jaw. The lid shut down. My legs were out, my head was in, but mercifully I maintained my balance, pushed myself up and the freezer relinquished its grip. My head however was now covered in tiny white icicles.
At times life seems to dump on us like these kitchen objects and it feels everything and everyone seems on the attack, ready to knock us flat. There are days when I do feel helpless and overwhelmed. But my best coping strategy is to call on God’s help and ask for His grace and to see my situation from His perspective. This too will pass. And there will be something else flying our way which will be bigger than a Mango Chutney jar. We are called to put on our spiritual armour, read the Word and pray. My prayer is often one word: “Help!” But it works. It reminds me that I am not alone and that perhaps next time I walk into my kitchen I need to wear a crash helmet.
Deuteronomy 31:8 (The Message) “God is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; He won’t leave you. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t worry.”