Opinion
Being transformed – like slow-cook porridge!
Jane Walters has found a new way to prepare breakfast, but this has taught her the need for perseverance and patience.
I’ve recently discovered a marvellous thing: you can cook porridge overnight in the slow cooker. Who knew? Admittedly, the technique has taken some refining. The first attempt resulted in a solid, caramelised lump of stodge that had to literally be chipped off the bowl in the morning. I now know better, and the use of the timer ensures that I can get up to creamy, delicious breakfast, perfectly ready for dishing up.
Now, if you counter this with ‘but it only takes x minutes in the microwave’ I could agree with you. After all, it’s what I’d done for years myself. Surely logic tells you a quick zap is better than hours and hours of All That Cooking?
I never thought I could learn a life-lesson from a bowl of porridge, and yet we see in the Bible – and experience in our own lives – the times when God doesn’t just zap us and our circumstances, despite us praying He will. I think He prefers the long-and-slow approach.
Think of Moses, having to wait until he was 80 until God appointed him to rescue the Israelites out of Egypt. Or Abraham being almost a centenarian before becoming a father. Often God seems to keep us waiting, which can be really frustrating. Perhaps we end up accusing Him of failing to answer our prayers, or even ignoring us. But maybe the truth is rather different: He is preparing us oh-so-tenderly, gently and steadily for what He has planned.
You see, it’s not about how fruitful we can be, or how successful. Even in seeking God’s kingdom, we can find ourselves unwittingly following our culture’s modus operandi of getting on with it, meeting that deadline, forcing something to happen. No wonder that stress and anxiety are endemic and burn-out affects the best of us. Surely there’s a better way?
Back to the porridge: those oats sit in the cold liquid, looking for all the world like nothing is happening, but under the surface they are gradually taking on what they are soaking in. By the time gentle heat is applied, the ‘magic’ has already begun. So we can be hopeful as we wait for what we’re asking for, spending time in God’s presence. Those minutes in our devotional times really do count. Gradually, gradually we are being transformed until, ultimately, we become what we were created for.
The slow cooker photo is courtesy of Jane Walters.
Jane Walters is Chair of the Association of Christian Writers and loves to champion writers of all ages and stages. She leads Green Pastures Christian Writers (currently meeting on Zoom) and creative writing retreats at Quiet Waters. Find out more: www.janewyattwalters.com or @readywritersretreats on Instagram.
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