Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE to cook. It is just a part of who I am and what I do. I am often told that I need to author a cookbook, but since I never go by recipes, I don’t know how that will ever be possible. Part of my joy in cooking comes from all the smells associated with cooking: garlic, onions, cilantro, basil, tomatoes – ahh, I could go on and on and on. Smells are a big part of cooking in my book. So imagine my disgust when I came home one night only to smell rotten potatoes in our pantry. Yuck! That smell ranks right up there on the “worst smell list” with burnt popcorn or scorched collard greens.
I immediately located the culprit of the smell: a 5 pound bag of potatoes that had been brought inside from the screened in porch and that slowly began to rot. Unnoticed by me, the potatoes had been sitting in their mesh bag and since air was not filtering around them as it should, they had begun to spoil – and as the saying goes: one bad apple (or in this case, potato) can spoil the whole bunch. I quickly tossed the entire bag into the garbage and relocated the smelly mess to the garage to await pickup by the trash men the following day.
This now left me in a quandary. No potatoes in the house. And can I just say this: there are some things that are just staples in my kitchen and pantry – potatoes ranks right up there on the list. But because of my work schedule and other appointments on the calendar, I wouldn’t be able to go by the farmers market or grocery store until the weekend. What’s a cook to do? I wish I could say I prayed about it, but I didn’t. I just resigned myself to no potatoes – which meant no hash browns for breakfast – and don’t you know that was my immediate craving?
Fast forward a few days. Due to a busy schedule on the weekend, I was not able to swing by the farmers market or grocery store and the house is still without potatoes. On Tuesday morning, we attend a Power Hour prayer meeting at my church. After the meeting, I am standing around talking to some of the other attendees and happen to glance out into the church lobby and guess what I see? You got it – bags and bags of potatoes! One of the elders in our church who works with our community service outreach program had been given 2 large bags, each containing approximately five 5 pound bags of potatoes and he’d brought them to the church to share with the members attending the Power Hour. Talk about an unexpected blessing.
As my mother grabbed a bag of potatoes for our house, I couldn’t help but think of God’s promise found in Isaiah 65:24: Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear. We serve a mighty good God, y’all. Sometimes He will send you potatoes, even when you haven’t asked for them…yet.
And guess what I’m having for breakfast…(smile)
Be blessed.
© 2010 Kristina E. Smith
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