November 23 – “Frying turkeys”

We got a new turkey fryer today.  We still have one of our old ones.  The other one went the way of Ike things.  It took me about 30 minutes to figure out how the silly thing fit together.  It is way more complicated than the old one.  The new one even has a failsafe timer on it.  Every 20 minutes it shuts off unless you turn the timer again.  If it shuts off you have to start the lighting process over again from scratch.  Kind of like when you get away from God in your life.  You pretty much have to return to the last place you knew you were close to Him and start over again from there.   Some good friends of ours gave us a great recipe for rubbing on the turkeys before frying.  Chris puts the rub on each turkey a day or two before we cook.  That's so it can soak in and have the same flavor all the way through, instead of tasting really good near the outside and getting blander and blander the deeper you go.  Like the way you need a strong foundation in your Christian walk early on so that later when God has a job for you, or when you are challenged to defend your faith, you can dig deep for an answer.  Or how in a church it is important to have more than just a polished performance.  Being the church is about people's lives being changed.   The actual process of frying the turkeys is simple.  Pour in one of those big boxes of 3 gallons of peanut oil and turn on the fire.  When it heats up to 300 degrees on the nifty little thermometer included with the kit, it's time to dump one in.  The problem is, it's supposed to stay at 300 degrees and never get lower.  But when I put the turkey in, the grease cools down really quickly.  Then I have to turn up the heat to get it back to 300 degrees.  No matter what I do, it won't stay hot, and that's frustrating.  Mainly because then it has to stay in the grease longer.  OK.  I get it.  I have a problem staying "hot" in my relationship with God, too.  And that just means I have to stay in the throes of circumstances that much longer until I "get it."   It sure feels good after each stage of "finished."  Finished buying all the turkeys.  Finished rubbing on the stuff.  Finished heating up the oil.  Finished cooking turkey number one, then two, then three, then however many we have.  Finished cutting the up.  Finished cooling down the oil and pouring it back into the plastic jars to throw away.  Finished washing the thermometers and knives and lifting paraphernalia and pots and lids.  I guess there are "finished" layers of Christian maturity, too.  I'm afraid I'm still back in one of the earlier ones, though,   Now I'm back to waiting again.  For Thursday.  For the feast. And in life?  For God's timing.  For heaven.   Ephesians 3:20-21 says, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."   Father, thanks for the circumstances, whether it be the pain or the waiting or even the joys.  Guess it shows that I'm not done yet.  Amen.