Saturday, July 24, 2010



Facebook Friday

A few years ago our electric kettle died. In the days between our loss and me getting to the shops to buy a new one, we boiled water like they did in The Little House on the Prairie. Ok, I deliberately stalled for a week or two because I wanted to play like Laura. I didn't have a creek to fill my bucket and we didn't chop wood or light an indoor fire, but we did fill an enamel kettle with tap water and sit it on a gas flame. 

The best part of boiling water this way was the song our little kettle sang each time it reached boiling point. Unlike the express boil of the electric jug, this humble pot hummed as it got going. Minutes later it would hiss as steam collected in the spout and by the time the pressure was right, a high pitched song would ring out.

Boiling water the old fashioned way brings a little musical theatre to the kitchen. Strike the match, light the flame, simmer the water, catch the steam and then the final number, the bird song whistle. 

If your morning is a lazy one and a hearty breakfast is on the menu, waiting for water to boil can be romantic. If you're busy or life's burdens have pressed you further than you want to be pushed, you may be like the kettle in my Facebook Friday status of the week.


Even tho a tea kettle is up to its neck in hot water, it continues to sing. Press on !!!! 


Thanks to Joe, a friend from Memphis, I took a minute to consider the song composed under pressure. What a beautiful anthem we sing when we allow God to work in us even when the urgency of life seems to press too hard. Without the fire, the song remains hidden. While I resist like mad those situations which bring testing, I know when I'm up to my neck in hot water, God is there. He encourages me to live victoriously and delights in the victor's song. Let's press on!!