Remembering What's Important

One day when I was twelve or thirteen, my mom was taking a nap and I decided to make Rice Crispy Treats. They’re easy to make: butter, marshmallows and Rice Crispies, if I remember correctly. As I was waiting for the marshmallows to melt in a big pot, I stepped out of the room to watch just a few seconds of a suspenseful movie that I’d been listening to from the kitchen. I lost all sense of time as I stared unblinking at the scene on the tv, still holding a wooden spoon with butter and marshmallow clinging to the end of it. I was awakened from this drama induced stupor by the smell of flaming marshmallows. The same thing, I imagine, that woke my mom from her nap. 

Blackened, exploded marshmallows had traveled a surprising distance in my absence. I can’t remember if any hit the ceiling, but they definitely hit the hood above the stove. They were difficult to pry and clean off, very sticky, and the kitchen smelled like flaming marshmallows for a while after that. 

Sometimes I find myself staring at the world around me unblinking, like I’m watching a movie while marshmallows are heating unattended in the kitchen.

What are the marshmallows in this strange analogy? All those really important daily practices which are surprisingly easy to cast aside right when I need them the most. The daily practice of acknowledging that God is more powerful than anything I’m tempted to fear, of turning to scripture and dwelling on it more than on the news of the day, and of taking all my worries to God and entrusting Him with them. When I forget these practices my mind gets stuck in gloomy thoughts and I lose momentum in life.

So today I’m reminding myself to pay attention to the marshmallows, because they’re not going to stir themselves!

Blessings to you today as you remember what’s most important.

~Amy