The Hungry Kitchen Floor

I woke up with the idea yesterday that I was going to make a homemade southern meal. I planned what I was going to make: country fried steak with gravy, homemade mashed potatoes, green beans, and lima beans (my husband loves lima beans). I took my time and prepared the meal with love. Two hours later, everything was done, so I reached up to the top of the stove to take the foil and cover the mashed potatoes. As soon as I touched the foil (it is one of those heavy-duty boxes that is very heavy), the entire box tipped and hit the pan with the steak and gravy. Within a split second, the entire pan and all of its contents splattered all over my kitchen floor.

I stood there frozen in place for a few seconds. My husband was in the other room but he heard the crash and came into the kitchen to see what had just happened. He looked down and saw the steak and gravy all over the floor, then he looked up at me and saw that I was on the verge of tears (I know what you're thinking: crying over country fried steak? Really? But it was not the steak I wanted to cry over, it was the time I had wasted making it). My husband immediately hugged me and thanked me for making the meal, then he began to clean up the mess I had made. Once I snapped out of my shock, I helped clean up, too.

Once the floor was clean, I stared at the stove at what was left of the meal I had prepared: only mashed potatoes and lima beans remained. The child in me wanted to just throw the rest of it away because I had no idea how I was going to pull together another meal in less than an hour before my husband had to leave.

So I did what any superwoman would have done: I called a local restaurant and ordered 2 steaks to go with our sides. Within an hour, I was back home and the meal was saved. Our revised menu? Sirloin steak, mashed potatoes, corn and lima beans.

What did I learn from this mishap?

1. Be present and pay attention. I've noticed I have been very distracted this month because I have so much going on, and many projects that are due. If I had taken the time to take the foil with both hands, I would not have knocked the steak and gravy onto the floor.

2. Stay calm in the middle of chaos. I wanted to cry when I saw the steak and gravy spilled all over my floor, but instead, I collected myself and helped my husband clean up the mess.

3. There is always a plan B. Sure, the meal I made was made with love, but was dropping it on the floor really the end of the world? By thinking quickly, I was able to replace the steak with steak from a restaurant.

We are all very busy but God does not want us to be running around day and night without taking time for ourselves. Hebrews 4:11 says: "So let us do our best to enter that rest."

As you are completing your daily tasks, don't forget to take time to renew your spirit and most of all, SLOW DOWN. Otherwise, you may end up feeding your kitchen floor like I did yesterday!

 
Read more from Crystal on her blog: http://crystalsenterbrown.weebbly.com/blog