The Gift

My neighbor has been dropping off food periodically. She says she makes too much. I think she does that on purpose and it is important for my self worth to reciprocate.

I want to surprise them and return the favor. I want to come up with something they don’t usually have.

My purpose is to bake something for them. I don’t want to do a box thing. I want to put together a real ingredients thing. I am not a baker, so I decided I had better garner up some courage to attempt this.

Not only will the resultant thing be meaningful, the individual ingredients have unique characteristics.

I gather together the basic tools, which include bowls, measuring cups and spoons, a baking container and ingredients.

The combined ingredients will encourage our relationship to grow.

I open the cupboard door. Purpose and hope come tumbling out along with flour and sugar. I have to slam the cupboard door shut in a hurry, because despair and fear are lurking in the back of the cupboard, looking for a chance to escape.

Flour is for nourishment.

Sugar isn’t that good nutritionally, but it provides warmth to the recipe.

Now the refrigerator:

Eggs are required. They provide protein, a nutritional necessity.

Eggs provide stability in our relationship and keep us together.

Inactivity and slothfulness lay in the refrigerator bottom. They don’t want to come out; they want to capture ingredients until they spoil or grow mold.

I go to the staples cupboard and retrieve:

Oil, to bind the ingredients and provide flavor.

Oil smooths our relationships, over the rough spots.

To grow the ingredients, I grab the baking soda.

Our relationship also needs to grow, or it will gradually disappear.

The spice drawer explodes wondrous odors.

Cinnamon,

Nutmeg,

Vanilla.

All providing excitement in our lives.

Fresh apples come out of the larder. They provide moisture and flavor.

I discard the bad apples and relish the solid ones, as in our relationships.

For love,

I stir in pecans and coconut.

Our bodies and psyche need love and caring to survive.

The ingredients must be carefully measured. Too little and the recipe fails, too much overwhelms, and the recipe fails.

The combined ingredients are placed in a container, a baking pan.

Boundaries are established.

The recommended temperature and time requirement fulfill the need for responsibility in monitoring the process.

I am baking a cake, but I am also sending messages with every ingredient and action. I want my cake to be a success. I want my relationship to flourish.

How are you making your relationships a success? Let me know. I care.

Contemplation: Relationships need nourishment

Sincerely,

Lynn Brooke

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Photo Credit: © 2023 Rachel Gareau