Every few days, my niece posts pictures of my sister’s latest culinary creations on Facebook. The photos could be on the cover of food magazines. On the right is a photo of a baked omelet she prepared a couple of weeks ago. She has also been grilling and barbecuing a lot more. If the pictures are 
true, my sister is being very innovative about the meals she is preparing. Before the time of sheltering in place began, my sister would eat out a couple times each week. It’s not that she can’t cook, she would just prefer not to have to cook.
I still prepare meals from scratch most of the time. I never thought that I ate out very much. But lately, I am dreading the question: “What do I want for dinner?” I’ve lost my knack for creating new dishes and default to old and easy favorites. I won’t bore you with the list, but a Summer favorite are BLTs.
I watch Top Chef all the time, and the other day thought about what a deconstructed BLT would look like. Still, all I did was make the toast, slice the lettuce and tomato, cook the bacon and voila. In a way, I am still doing the same old thing, even though this is a time to try new ways of bringing meat and vegetables together. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to think outside the box when it comes to meals. I’m going to try and spice it up, deconstruct it, or even bring the same ingredients together in new ways. This is an opportunity for me to get excited about what happens in the kitchen 3 times a day, each day of the year.
These times call us to be innovative and intentional in what we do. As we begin to come back together for in-person worship, we are also discovering that our time together is very different. There are masks and social distancing. Notices are posted on the doors of our churches, informing us what we need to do to stay safe. We are creating a new way of relating to one another, a new recipe for being in relationship with one another and with our Lord. We have the opportunity to try something new as we gather to celebrate worshiping together. We can share our story and God’s story for us in ways that deepen our understanding of what it means to be God’s children in these days. May we embrace this time as a way to start afresh and begin anew. And Amen.