Baking muffins has become a weekly ritual that has given me moments of familiarity during this unusual year. When I don’t know how to pray, I bake. When my mind is spinning, pulling out a favorite recipe and blending ingredients help me slow down and gain perspective.
Baking muffins won’t change the world. But it helps me create something delightful and good in the midst of so much that is not good. It changes the state of my mind and heart. Baking nourishes me so that I can nourish others.
The prophet Isaiah reminds us that God sees us, knows us, and has compassion for us. God proclaims, “I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:15b-16a). Rituals help us slow down enough to hear the still, small voice of God’s love that is always within and around us. We are held in God’s love when times are calm and when they are chaotic. I remember this best when I use my hands to combine ingredients into a treat that I can touch and taste and share with those I love.
This message is excerpted from “Rituals that nourish and ground us” by Jordan Miller Stubbendick in the October 2020 Café online magazine.
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