An Apple Pie is like a Church

This weekend was a fun one for the most part. My cherisher and I had a date on Friday night and met a friend for dinner and a movie. It was a great movie and we will definitely read the book. Saturday seemed to fly by…one project birthed another one and before I realized it, I had cleaned out 6 cabinets and made a homemade apple pie! Now that is a productive day!

The apple pie was the most fun and satisfying…for it was a practice run for next week. My daughter invited me to come over and help one of my granddaughters’ class make an apple pie. How fun is that???? Seeing that I had never made an apple pie, it seemed prudent to practice. I have to admit it really was fun!!!

I work for a wonderful company that sells kitchen products (to include pantry, cookware, etc.). Having the right tools makes the job fun and easy! That is exactly what the pie turned out to be! Even my cherisher got into the pie making but taking photos as I completed steps from making the crust, slicing the apples, decorating the top crust with pastry leaves and finally the final shot – the finished pie!

It occurred to me as I worked in the kitchen that God’s church is a lot like an apple pie. You have your crusty people – they are necessary, so don’t throw them out! Then you have the fruit – also necessary to flavor and substance of the pie. My favorite part is the seasoning – because without them, life would be dull and uninteresting. They spice up our lives and give us wisdom – in other words – they are necessary, too. The recipe I used called for a tablespoon of butter to be placed on top of the seasoned apples. We all know that butter adds that necessary richness and depth to a recipe – yep, gotta have it! The top crust was a little different. In lieu of the traditional basket weave design or a cover over the fruit with slits to allow the steam from the juices to escape, I opted to use tiny special cutters. Since we are finally into Fall (do not argue with me…my heart is set on this!) a leaf shape cutter was selected. It took extra time, but then isn’t that the way things are in the church? It takes time for God to work His plan and that means being patient and expectant! When the last leaf was placed upon the pie, I couldn’t help but smile. It really surprised me…it looked good! I mean, like really good…like one of those pies you actually pie that doesn’t come in a box! The final step was to brush the top crust with a bit of milk and then sprinkle sugar on the moistened crust. Talk about good! Like the milk and sugar are the last ingredients that complete the pie, there are those that come late in the harvest of the season in the church. My dad and a very good friend returned to the harvest near the end of their season. No wonder, it made the finished project so sweet!

Church is like an apple pie! You need to have one!