Curry, Zucchini, and Michelangelo

We had the awesome opportunity this week to meet with Elder Bednar as he introduced the iPads to our Mission. We don't have the iPads yet, but we sure were uplifted by the power of an apostle of the Lord. Meine Gute! The power in that room was palpable! I felt so honored to be able to be there, feast on the Spirit, and know without a doubt that I was a missionary for the fulness of the restored gospel, even the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Haha, so we got these new booklets on how to use technology in the mission field, and under Blogs it says that they should be short. Haha. Oops. I've got some work to do. :)

I just wanted to share two experiences that really meant a lot to me this week.

The first was the other day I was making Red Thai Curry for the first time (the first of many, methinks) we were at a Termin, and I was chopping zucchini. I was having way too much fun, and I tuned into the feeling, trying to figure out why chopping zucchini was so enjoyable. I realized it was because I felt like I was creating something. My initial reaction was that I was actually destroying something...

I was chopping up something that was already beautiful into rather uneven, unidentifiable shapes.

And then I thought about it.

I am sure that that little zucchini had no idea that if it had just kept on growing, it would become ugly, gross, and not good for much more than being fed to the chickens. Or it would have rotted. But I'm still pretty sure that the zucchini was offended when it got picked.

"HEY!! I was doing so well! What the grass stains do you think you are doing? Now you messed up my chance to awesome!"

But now I was chopping it even finer and would eventually add it to the most delicious spices that it could highlight and complement, and it would bring nourishment, pleasure, and contentment, and be a way to bring people together. 

That would never have happened if I hadn't chopped it into uneven pieces.

I think life can be like that sometimes. Like the bush that requires being cut back in order to produce fruit, or the field that needs to be tilled in order to be soft enough for seeds, or the seed itself that needs to crack before it can sprout, there is an element of destruction before there can be creation. Or maybe it is more of a reorganization. haha It reminds me of one of my most favorite quotes of all time:

“For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn't understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.”
― Cynthia Occelli

I think for the Being who created the universe, and everything in it, the God who holds the beginning of the evolution of all things in His Hands, and He who understands the science behind the science, I think He gets it. I think He knows what has to break in order for us to really succeed. And I am so, so grateful for that.

The other was based on the story told in Elder Rafael Pino's talk from General Conference about the boy who watched Michelangelo work on the statue of David.

 “As the sculptor was chiseling a block of marble, a boy came every day and watched shyly. When the figure of David emerged and appeared from that stone, complete for all the world to admire, the boy asked Michelangelo, ‘How did you know he was in there?’”

I had one of those moments this week. Hehe

One of the Sisters from the American ward asked me to text her a phone number, which I was happy to do, but my fingers are so used to technology and not this prehistoric whateverness that we use (at least that is what I tell myself) that instead of sending the number, I DELETED it. Not that big of a deal out of context, but in context, to me, it was so humiliating. Like it was up there with having a Marilyn Monroe moment on Main Street in Albuquerque New Mexico.

Or worse.

I'm actually not sure.

But I thought of Michelangelo, and in my mind's eye, I looked up at heaven and in loving frustration yelled "Lord. That there was a chunk of my FACE! OUCH!!"

But it's OK. 

My face is a lot prettier now. ;)

Oodles of love,

Sister Roderer