Cake
making starts fundamentally with mixing of butter and sugar also known as
‘creaming’. These two; butter and sugar, each has its own unique properties and
usefulness in a cake. The butter or fat provides creaminess, tenderizers and
incorporate air bubbles in the cake, while the sugar acts as a sweetener and it
tenderizers the cake. On the first look, they both seem two seem immiscible,
but with more stirring/creaming, the sugar gradually dissolves into the butter,
while the butter absorbs the sugar making it lighter and fluffier.
By
appearance it seems like all the sugar is gone and lost. But on the contrary,
by dissolving, the sugar makes the butter lighter, creamier, sweeter and of a
very smooth consistency. So the sugar is not being lost, rather it is making
the butter better and fit for its purpose in the cake, while retaining its
sweet taste. Two additional important points I found out about this creaming is
that; the mixing must always be done in one direction only, and that it
requires a great amount of work/effort (it does not happen automatically).
A
couple can be likened to the butter and sugar, the husband being the butter,
while the wife being the sugar; both of them uniquely gifted and different in
their own ways, personalities and potentials. When a man and a woman get
married, they have to mix and blend their ways and self to become one. In God’s
sight from the moment they were joined as husband and wife, they became one.
However,
they have to physically and mentally work together to become one. Therefore, as
sugar dissolves in butter, so should the wife submit to her husband. In
submitting to her husband, she does not lose herself or give up herself, as
contrary thought, rather she complements her husband, gives her best and
uniqueness to the union. By her input, submission, respect and love she helps
her husband to become a better man, smoothen his rough edges, soften his
hardness and at the same time add flavour to his life, and in all of these
still maintain her own sweetness, uniqueness and purpose.
The
husband on the other hand, who is the butter in the mix, is to accept the woman
(sugar) with love, being aware that they are better together than apart. He
does not see her inputs as controlling or her submission as something to be
trampled upon, but as a blessing in His life to make Him become a better man,
the kind of man God has created him to be.
As
pointed out, to achieve the desired mix, the mixing has to be done in one
direction; which means the couple has to choose to go about their marriage by
one way. There is the husband’s way, the wife’s way, the world’s way and God’s
way. The first three would definitely bring with it many disappointments, hurts
and pains. But to go by God’s way is to choose the path of success.
Following God’s way means seeking from his
word and doing what His word says. By following God’s way only, a couple can be
sure that even though it requires a lot of work on their part, the journey is
going to be successful and they would have a beautiful end. Isn’t this the will
of God that: “therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall
cleave unto his wife, and they shall be ONE flesh.
Shalom,
You are made for MORE
