PARTS OF A WHOLE

All of you cooks and, especially all of us who wish we could cook better, understand the importance of following the recipe.  I distinctly remember the cookie recipe we followed to the t---to only discover baking soda had been written down instead of baking powder.  WHAT a disaster that was!  One little ingredient can completely change the outcome.  When I took some cooking classes, the chef was BIG into you using your imagination when cooking- BUT never in baking.   I have learned over the years how to use my cooking imagination, and have a few dishes I change almost every time I prepare them.   Baking, though,  is REALLY about ingredient chemical reactions to each other and unless you follow the recipe you are asking for a possible disaster.  The dish is all the things which are a part of it.  Everything we put into the pot---has a direct consequence on the success or lack thereof.

This train of thought came from a recent statement I read----"We are all the things we have experienced."  THIS is a deep subject and I took a nosedive into my history after reading it.  While spending time self-examining, I often realize my actions and reactions are a direct reflection to something in my past.  We may think we have left the past in the past, but we are forever impacted by our experiences---many time subconsciously.  While we are forgiven and redeemed when our sins are forgiven, and God has forgotten them, we still feel their consequences in our present and future.  Our history is a teaching tool and that is a good thing.  So instead of dwelling on our past, how do we succeed in using what we have learned and moving forward?  Giving it to God---has been my own solution.  Regret is directly tied to the past---and regret has no real benefit.  Instead of living in regret, we should remember our past and use it as a tool of change.  Give that guilt and shame to God with your confession and move forward.  We certainly are a sum total of all the things we have experienced and a wise man is able to use those lessons and bring about change.  A great example is David and the death of his son, who was the result of David's sin.   Take the time to reread the story (2 Samuel 12:16-25)

"Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up;

do you not perceive it?"

Isaiah 43:18-19