Full of Flavor

Last night, I was helping my mom cook dinner. It was already late, so we decided to do something relatively simple: fettuccine alfredo.

First off, let me just say this: it was absolutely delicious (and we made WAY too much).

Now that I've said that, let's move on.

The noodles were finished, and we were starting on the sauce when we realized that with the amount of pasta we had made, there wasn't nearly enough sauce. What were we going to do? It was already late, and neither of us wanted to go to the store. Plus, the pasta was already ready, and we didn't want it to get cold.

Searching the pantry for something - anything - we could use, my mom saw a can of Cream of Chicken Soup. She had never tried using this before, but she explained that it would give the sauce a chicken flavor, since we didn't have any meat to put in it, plus it would thicken up the alfredo sauce so that there would be enough.

Long story short, we mixed it in with the alfredo sauce and bell peppers, then mixed it into the pasta. And it was delicious.

You're probably wondering: why is he writing about fettuccine alfredo?

Because... when I was sitting here trying to think of something to write about, I remembered last night making fettuccine alfredo with Cream of Chicken Soup, and got inspired.

It made me begin thinking about how when things don't necessarily go the way we expect them, sometimes, if we are brave enough to try something new, something great can come from it.

I had never tried mixing Cream of Chicken Soup and alfredo mix together, but it gave the sauce a unique flavor that wasn't too overpowering or odd, but that paired together perfectly. We were out of other options, and had to take our chances.

It could have happened where the Cream of Chicken Soup completely ruined the sauce, making the pasta taste horrible. But, we had to take that chance, because otherwise there wouldn't be enough sauce. And that small risk worked out wonderfully.

Sometimes I need to remind myself that things don't always work out how I planned them, but sometimes mixing in a little of the unexpected can make things better than I could have ever dreamed.

Growing up in the church, I often heard: "If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans". As silly of a quote as it is, it's completely true. God has great plans for all of us, but more often than not, we want to plan our own lives. We want to take the reins, when really we're supposed to just enjoy the ride.

There may be a detour that we weren't expecting, and it can be a bit scary or unnerving at the time, but we have to remember that God is in control. He knows the future before it happens, and He is constantly guiding our steps. Those scary or unnerving experiences can add flavor to our life in a way that we never expected. They can also teach us something new.

Like with the pasta, I learned that you can mix alfredo and Cream of Chicken Soup and the sauce comes out tasting better than before.

It's quite possible, if we allow Him, God can mix a few things into our plans that may appear iffy until the finished product. Or, even scarier yet, He may completely derail our plans because He knows there's something better out there for us.

This is something I've experienced, and I can honestly say that He has derailed me from things that I thought were great plans for my life, when in reality they were debilitating. They were not at all where my life was supposed to head, despite the fact that in my fantasy, they were ideal.

He had greater plans for me, and, though I didn't say this at the time I was going through them, I'm so glad that He loves me enough to derail my plans, or even take me on a detour. Because now my life is better than I could have dreamed up.

My life is full of flavor.