Pickles
March 2, 2022
March 2, 2022
I know it is weird my first article of the year is about pickles but hang in there you may be surprised! I have been watching so many cooking and baking shows lately and one of the shows I love is called Iron Chef Canada. A great chef challenges an iron chef to cook five dishes based on a secret ingredient. I have seen many ingredients used so far, but I have not yet seen them use pickles. If they have and I have not gotten to that episode, please do not ruin it for me leave me in suspense.
Pickles have always been curious to me. I hate cucumber, I don’t like the flavour, I don’t like the texture and the smell even turns my head a bit, but when you pickle a cucumber, it is like something magical happens, especially when garlic is involved, yummy! I love pickles, I always have. I love their texture. I love their flavour, and from that first whiff after popping the lid open, I am enticed by their lovely aroma.
How is it that the same vegetable prepared in two different ways can give me such different reactions? It is because there is something about vinegar that brings out the best in a cucumber. - For those who love cucumber and hate pickles, this may not resonate, but for you pickle lovers out there, there is more! – Vinegar on its own is a very strong flavour and most of us would not have it on its own. The changes it brings to what we add it to is why we have it in our homes. This vinegar pickles the cucumber adding flavour. This process must be done a specific way for 3-4 weeks. If you just pour vinegar over a bunch of cucumbers and stick them in a jar, they do not instantly become pickles. If you add too much or not enough vinegar they will not turn out as they should. If they are stored at the wrong temperature they may still not turn out. Pickles done wrong can be worse than me eating cucumbers and that is saying something.
Now many of you are wondering where I am going with all of this, and I am sure some of you ‘smarties’ out there have already figured it out. We are all like those cucumbers. The vinegar is like the tough things we go through. The person handling this process is God. God knows exactly all the ingredients needed to bring out the best in each of His precious cucumbers, and God knows exactly how long each one will take. He provides everything we need to go through the process, and He is watching over us every step of the way. He knows that once this process is done, we will come out stronger, and better. We come out with a few warts, more accepting of others like us. We come out and see that we were not alone in this process, but we are surrounded by other cucumbers who went through the same things and came out the other side better.
We all face our vinegar process and if we are doing it on our own things can go wrong. When we allow God to carry us through our rough times, we will still face the same obstacles, but we know the outcome will be for our good. Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
It is time to embrace the life of the pickle and allow God’s fermenting process to bring us through our difficulties to become stronger people able to help others through their process.
Personal Note: If you are in the middle of some difficult times right now, allow God to help you through them, do not face them alone. Keep on the lookout for others who have either gone through the same thing or are currently facing the same obstacles so that you do not go through it alone. Also, be ready to allow others to help. It can be humbling to allow others to help but sometimes it is necessary to make it through. If you need support during this time feel free to contact me or someone else you trust!
Pickles have always been curious to me. I hate cucumber, I don’t like the flavour, I don’t like the texture and the smell even turns my head a bit, but when you pickle a cucumber, it is like something magical happens, especially when garlic is involved, yummy! I love pickles, I always have. I love their texture. I love their flavour, and from that first whiff after popping the lid open, I am enticed by their lovely aroma.
How is it that the same vegetable prepared in two different ways can give me such different reactions? It is because there is something about vinegar that brings out the best in a cucumber. - For those who love cucumber and hate pickles, this may not resonate, but for you pickle lovers out there, there is more! – Vinegar on its own is a very strong flavour and most of us would not have it on its own. The changes it brings to what we add it to is why we have it in our homes. This vinegar pickles the cucumber adding flavour. This process must be done a specific way for 3-4 weeks. If you just pour vinegar over a bunch of cucumbers and stick them in a jar, they do not instantly become pickles. If you add too much or not enough vinegar they will not turn out as they should. If they are stored at the wrong temperature they may still not turn out. Pickles done wrong can be worse than me eating cucumbers and that is saying something.
Now many of you are wondering where I am going with all of this, and I am sure some of you ‘smarties’ out there have already figured it out. We are all like those cucumbers. The vinegar is like the tough things we go through. The person handling this process is God. God knows exactly all the ingredients needed to bring out the best in each of His precious cucumbers, and God knows exactly how long each one will take. He provides everything we need to go through the process, and He is watching over us every step of the way. He knows that once this process is done, we will come out stronger, and better. We come out with a few warts, more accepting of others like us. We come out and see that we were not alone in this process, but we are surrounded by other cucumbers who went through the same things and came out the other side better.
We all face our vinegar process and if we are doing it on our own things can go wrong. When we allow God to carry us through our rough times, we will still face the same obstacles, but we know the outcome will be for our good. Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
It is time to embrace the life of the pickle and allow God’s fermenting process to bring us through our difficulties to become stronger people able to help others through their process.
Personal Note: If you are in the middle of some difficult times right now, allow God to help you through them, do not face them alone. Keep on the lookout for others who have either gone through the same thing or are currently facing the same obstacles so that you do not go through it alone. Also, be ready to allow others to help. It can be humbling to allow others to help but sometimes it is necessary to make it through. If you need support during this time feel free to contact me or someone else you trust!
