Trying new things

About a month ago, I received an email from Di, the wife of one of my hubby's golf buddies.  She was planning a get together of his golf buddies and their wives to farewell one of their mates who was moving to Wollongong.  We were asked to bring a plate and BYO drinks.  I told hubby of the get together and he immediately decided what he was taking for the BBQ and what salad I could take.  I suggested that it might not be a BBQ but more of an afternoon tea sort of thing but he was positive that his mates would be hosting a BBQ.  I contacted Di and she said it was finger food and when I told hubby, he was really disappointed.

I started trying to think of something yummy I could take and decided on a few items which were easy to make and easy to transport.  I had a Messy Church meeting in the middle of the day of the get together and when I got home, hubby stepped into the kitchen to help me out with cooking, thinking we wouldn't have everything done in time to leave by 3.45pm.  He actually enjoyed doing some of the prep work and ended up decorating butterfly cup cakes. He had never made butterfly cakes before and I gave him a demo on one and then let him go with the knife, a bowl of icing and box of a dozen cup cakes.  When we arrived at Di's with the food, everyone enjoyed it and hubby felt really proud that something he had helped make was enjoyed by others.

Thinking of it, sometimes we get so used to things done in a certain way  that the very idea of trying something different seems odd and uncomfortable.  However, if we are courageous enough to try something different, we may find the new thing more satisfying than what went before.  

My favourite verse (okay, I have lots of favourite verses but this is truly one of my most favourite faves) is Habakkuk 1:5

‘Look at the nations and watch –
    and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
    that you would not believe,
    even if you were told'

We need to watch but we also need to be ready to do something that we have never done before...we need to be brave and try new things if we want to be amazed by God's work.   If I had told hubby a month ago he would be decorating cakes for his golfing buddies, he wouldn't have believed he could do a good job of it.  However, if he had made a mess of the cakes, I still would have been really proud of him for attempting it.  I reckon God is proud of us when we try something new, even if we don't do it perfectly. 

I think Mother Teresa once said, “God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try"  Let us all be prepared to go out on a limb if God asks us.  Let us all be prepared to try something new, even if there is a possibly we could fall on our faces.  After all, if we fall on our faces, that position is, in fact, no better place to begin to worship our God.