The Power of Taste
No matter how many tricks I tried, I could not for the life of me get my little counter top oven to bake that pie all the way through. Finally, I threw my arms up, said, “Forget it. Let’s just eat.” I sliced pieces onto our plates, crunchy apples and all. And then I took a bite. One taste was all it took. One taste brought me back to warm memories, to family gatherings with tables stuffed full, cousins running wild through the house. I looked up at my husband and saw it did the same for him. We both nearly cried.
We were a few months into our first year overseas. Winter was settling in, and so was the fear in our hearts. Are we going to make it?
Reality has a brutal way of never being what you previously imagined. And really, how can you imagine life in a world you’ve never known? But there we were, in the middle of this new life in a strange new world. And we were weary. Weary of all the simple things we didn’t know how to do, weary of the big goals that now felt like impossible dreams, weary of the eggs and toast that were all I knew how to cook. And we were weary of the distance that stretched between us and loved ones left behind.
But that one taste, that one glorious, familiar, delicious taste, it did something for me. It connected me to my past, my roots and my people. And bite by bite, as I finished my slice, that taste, it spoke courage me, to my future ahead. “A half-baked pie, that’s progress, you know. You’re getting there, Love. You’re finding your way.”
Still to this day, an apple pie it warms me right through.
The power of taste. To evoke emotion, memory and strength. Perhaps this is why Someone, in his last moments with his people, left them with a taste. A bite to remember, to hold onto the good. And a sip to step forward to the bright unknown.
26 Responses
Let’s hope this year’s pie is baked all the way through. 🙂
Oh, yum!
Salivating over here.
How did you upload a picture? Just curious 🙂
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For a prompt like ‘taste’, my mind goes immediately to coffee. Because for me, coffee isn’t about the caffeine, or energy or waking up. It is the ritual, the aroma, the taste. The drawing on memories of coffee with family and friends. The moment of calm with the first drink. Coffee is not an addiction for me, it is an experience, past and present. With that heady aroma I recall camping trips, Daddy making extra coffee early in the morning when I had the early shift at work. Young siblings eager to make coffee for everyone. Visiting grandparents. Catching up with friends at a cafe. Sunday morning ‘fluffies’ with my children. Coffee is love.
Just don’t tell my husband. Ha.
Well said. I’m with you.
Awesome! Yes, that’s just how I feel about coffee. If only caffeine didn’t have such a strong effect on me…
I’m a tea drinker from a family of tea drinkers, so tea for me is what you described. Favorite line: ” It’s an experience, past and present.” So true.
Now, I’m not super up on my history, but I did a little research to teach students about Thanksgiving. I was surprised to find so many themes in the story that people have been discussing this week on Velvet Ashes. On sorrow begetting gratitude: the pilgrims lost something like half of their people during that first winter to sickness and starvation. On having to start learning how to feed yourself from scratch again: the pilgrims were dependent on the Native Americans to teach them how to even grow food. But, to add my own little moment, maybe turkey and corn were a foreign flavor to the pilgrims? They were, after all, in a foreign land sharing a feast with locals from an entirely different culture. Maybe a little like my feast. Five students came over and we cooked together，all Chinese food except for that loaf of bread. It certainly didn’t taste like the Thanksgivngs of my childhood, but the ideas were all there. Most especially, the remembrance that nothing in life is really earned or deserved, it is all a gift.
We DO have a lot in common with the Pilgrims! I was thinking about that this week as I taught about the first Thanksgiving to a group of kindergarteners. I thought about how especially thankful I am for the natives of this land that have taught me how to live in this place.
I love your little Chinese Thanksgiving! Way to keep all of the ideas there!
Taste and See!
Taste
Taste and see
Taste and know
I AM good
Know Me as you taste
The smooth sweet flavor of joy
Earthy gifts of common grace
And the pleasure of My presence
The hua jiao of pain – sharp and numbing
Limitations of both body and mind
As I transform you into My likeness
The bitterness of loss as it lingers on the tongue
As dreams evaporate through grasping fingers
Becoming a sweet-smelling sacrifice to the loveliness of My will
The sourness that squeezes the heart
When relationships wither and become nothing
And I become your Source of Sustenance
The savoriness of pursuing the future
Risking the unknown and embracing My choices
As I hold your hand and guide your steps
Taste
Taste and see
Taste and know
The banquet of My Love
Lovely!
I taste and see and know His good love through these savory words so sweetly arranged. Thank you for writing.
So powerful. That image of numbing hua jiao, and these two lines: “As dreams evaporate through grasping fingers
Becoming a sweet-smelling sacrifice to the loveliness of My will” especially spoke to my heart.
Once again, gorgeous, deep, rich and true! And yes, to taste, to fully experience the banquet of his love!
I love the line about how God becomes our “Source of Sustenance”. Once again Kristi, beautiful words woven together! Thank you!
Thank you ladies for such encouraging comments. I don’t quite know how to respond. I’m just glad that it brought truth to your hearts.
I love to bake. This year for my team’s Thanksgiving meal, I tried something new: mini-pies. Now, I had no deep or significant thought when I was making them – I just thought they were super cute! – but as I was thinking today of what I could share about taste and my mini-pies, an idea occurred to me. Our Heavenly Father loves to shower blessings on us. Sometimes they are big (like a whole pie!) and sometimes they are in the everyday small things (yes, like my mini-pies). It’s often the little tastings of His goodness in the midst of struggles, disappointment or hard times that are the sweetest.
These are so fun, Amanda. Little tastings of His goodness, love it!
Such a great idea! I also love how you tied them to the theme. Did you bake these in a muffin tin?
Yes! The pumpkin pies were baked in mini-muffin tins and the apple pies in a regular sized muffin tin. Other than that I used regular pie recipes.
I am super impressed! I think one big pie would be easier than 27,000 small ones. This is so beautiful 🙂
It is so often the little things that bring such sweetness to our lives!
These are so precious! My family used to make mini pecan pies in mini muffins tins; all I can say is you have a lot of patience. And I think you’re right about the little tastings of God that are the sweetest!
it’s such a complete “brain save” for me. I literally do nothing.The texture ends up being a tad different, but not enough that my family has ever noticed. 🙂 The kids love having it cooked in baggies too because I will keep some in the fridge and it makes them much more apt to cook up something on their own. 🙂