Grace - and Pie

But unto every one of us is given grace.… —Ephesians 4:7

“I'm just stupid!” wailed my daughter Tess, then twelve, as she slammed her bedroom door. She had tried to make macaroni and cheese out of a box; unfortunately, she hadn't drained the water before adding the cheese powder. Now her siblings teased her about her “orange soup.”

“Dear Lord, this child needs a success, quick! What can I do?”

Try again. Cook something easy with her. Don't give up or she will too.

When I invited Tess to make dessert, she zeroed in on a new recipe, Pink Angel Pie: prefab pie crust, a can of cherry filling and some meringue. How hard could that be?

First, she jerked the plastic wrap off the frozen shell, sending it skidding across the counter to shatter on the floor. Before she could cry, I picked up the pieces and swallowed my rebuke. “You know, Tess, pie dough is just like clay. You can just pinch it and press it back together.” Next, she opened the can of cherry filling and dropped the gooey lid on the kitchen rug. I stayed calm.

Now the tricky part: separating eggs. Once again, I withheld critique as she fished a few egg shell shards from the bowl, then beat the egg whites soft and high, splattering meringue on the cabinets. With a flourish, my increasingly confident daughter spread the fluffy topping on her creation and slid it into the oven for browning.

Well, Tess's dessert drew rave reviews from her siblings, and “orange soup” has become a family legend. Best of all, God gave both my daughter and me grace when we sorely needed it, thanks to Pink Angel Pie.

Gracious Lord, thank You for sending abundant grace wherever we are, even in a stained, meringue spattered kitchen.

Digging Deeper: Ps. 21:6–7; Luke 6:37–39

—Gail Thorell Schilling

The Monday, February 11, 2013 entry by Gail Thorell Schilling included in the “Daily Guideposts 2013” is reproduced with permission from Guideposts, Guideposts.org. Copyright © 2012 Guideposts. All rights reserved.