Different, But Not Yet Done

This morning I am thinking about an insight I had while preparing my Sunday dinner.  The particular beef stew recipe I was using called for me to first sauté the meat in a few seasonings.  As the cubes of beef browned in the pan, they smelled so good.  They looked good, too.  To the unsuspecting eye, they looked and smelled good enough to eat!  But I knew that they weren’t quite ready yet.  The next step was to pour the meat into the crock pot, stir it in with the remaining ingredients, and leave it alone to slow cook for a designated time.  Once the meat was really done, it was tender and fully seasoned…just perfect to complement and complete the rest of the meal.  My big “aha” moment came when I realized how this is much like my own process of preparation for some things I am called to do and become.  Without a doubt, there have been circumstances and experiences that sautéed me, so to speak.  I have taken some heat and been tried by fire.  I am not quite as raw as I once was.  To the unsuspecting eye, I may “look and smell” pretty good, like I’ve got it all together.  Without question, I have changed in significant ways.  I know I am different, but I also know that I’m not yet done.  There still remains some “toughness” in me—stubborn traces of old, unproductive ways of thinking and behaving that I must completely relinquish.  So I understand why lately I have felt such urgency, such a compulsion, to just spend time in the “slow cooker” of quiet prayer and meditation.  It is there that I am being transformed.  I realize God sees and knows how I will complement and complete the life and purpose of others…others who are also being prepared!  I now have a vision of the beautiful relationships and ventures that are in store for me.  I know I don’t want to mess things up by coming to the table, still tough and not fully seasoned.  So I will continue to yield to God’s wisdom as I am being wholly made.