Burnt Potatoes by Adina Brown

Burnt Potatoes

Adina Brown                  

As the circumstances of the Coronavirus pandemic continue around us, I felt the Lord prompt me to ask Him to show me things that are taking place in the spiritual realm beyond the things I can see with my physical eyes.  Even as I went through the grocery store with many empty shelves, I had to be purposeful in what I was focusing on.  He would continue to remind me of His joy and peace, His faithfulness in the past, and Matthew 6:26, “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?”  This truth continues to bring me so much peace as I rest in my Father’s care for me and my family. 

That night I had planned to peel and cut up potatoes to boil and make mashed potatoes to go along with our dinner.  I had a roast in the oven, green beans cooking, and potatoes boiling on the stove top.  I stepped outside for ten minutes to clear some brush in my backyard. When I returned back inside to the kitchen, I was overwhelmed by an awful burnt smell.  I must not have put enough water in with the potatoes to boil and was so disappointed that my dinner wasn’t going to be complete with those.  I quickly grabbed the entire pot and took it outside to get the stench out of my house.  I spent all evening trying various ways to get the smell out.  Bless my husband; he has a much more sensitive nose and ended up with a headache from the smell.  I was so sorry that he was welcomed home with a nasty smell instead of the wonderful meal I had planned for our family that night.  I also had to improvise and make a quick salad to complete our meal.  Life is rather frustrating when things don’t turn out like we expect or plan them.  This is what all of our lives are like right now: things are not going according to our plans, desires, and expectations, and we are learning to reset and hold each day’s plans loosely, asking the Lord to reveal Himself and His purposes daily.

The next morning, I was getting into my Bible study, and the passage for that day was from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV), which reads,

^“So, we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
I took a few minutes to meditate on these truths and ask myself a few questions.  What am I focusing and fixing my eyes on?  What things are temporary?  What things are eternal?  How do I allow Jesus to renew my inner-self daily?  And what does Jesus want to reveal to me that He is preparing for me eternally?  How does He promise to be with me now and forever?
Then I found myself wondering what another Bible version would say about this scripture, so I looked the passage up in the Message, and it reads,

“So, we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”

Small potatoes?  Wow, God sure has a sense of humor!  This passage doesn’t mention carrots or some kind of fruit, but “small potatoes.”  He put all of this into perspective and cares about the details of what He is wanting to teach me.  All of the circumstances I am currently facing on earth are small potatoes in comparison to the lavish celebration that He has prepared for us.  That does not mean people are not suffering, so I do not want to make light of those serious situations.  However, I am so grateful that I cannot see all the details of even tomorrow, because as a human I would be completely overwhelmed.  But I can focus on the promises He has given to me and keep in perspective the hope I have in Jesus.  Sometimes, we even have to laugh at our messes, weaknesses, and the things we are becoming overwhelmed by, and know that He will give us light for the next step and teach us through opportunities like burnt potatoes.