O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 107:1
The Hebrew word for steadfast love is hesed, and some commentators have also called it faithful love, loyal love, and covenant love. I have always found this verse to be a great call to worship, where the leader offers the first line, O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, and the congregation responds, for his steadfast love endures forever. Thanks and praise for God’s goodness that never runs out.
One of the practices I started during Lent was to read the morning and evening prayers from The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer, which included this prayer sentence a few weeks ago: Shape my heart to mirror for others the compassion you have for me (page 79). This prayer reminded me of the words of the hymn you might know: Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me. Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on me. God’s compassion, God’s love for you and for me is a steadfast and enduring love.
As empty nesters, it’s always exciting when your children come home for a visit. A few weeks ago, Joshua and Becca traveled to be with us for the weekend, and I had this inspiration to pull together an apple pie.
I have been experimenting a bit with my apple pie attempts for the past couple of months. Growing up in central NY, the Mcintosh was the go-to apple when baking a pie. The only problem for me, there were no Mcintosh apples in the refrigerator drawer. So I grabbed what we had – Ambrosia. I do not believe I had ever used them before in an apple pie, and I thought, “Can’t hurt to try.”
After slicing up the apples and mixing up my ingredients, I decided to top off the apples with a bit of maple syrup as a surprise before laying the pie crust over it all. Maple syrup is another central New York staple I grew up with, and I was excited to try it with the Ambrosia maple apple pie.
Baked it for the standard amount of time. It smelled really good as the aroma filled the kitchen. Anticipation was building throughout the house. Pulled it out, and the crust looked like one of my best ever. Let it cool, while we waited, some of us were more patient than others. I was not one of the patient ones, as I was eager to cut into it and share it with the family.
We returned a little later, and I made my first cut into the pie and immediately knew something was not right. The knife went in too easily. I felt no bottom crust when I pressed the knife deeper into the pie. I made the second cut, going a little slower to see if I just cut too quickly the first time. Same issue. No bottom crust. Then I took the spatula and dished out that first piece.
Oh no. The outside looked like a pie, but inside. If you take a look at the photo above, you might be able to see the issue. It looked like a weak cup of tea had spilled all over the inside of my pie. This pie was drenched. Flooded, you might say. It was a disastrous effort for this pie-making outing, for sure.
Something obviously went very wrong. Was it the sugar, the baking time, the temperature, the maple syrup? I am certain some of you have a lot more experience with pie baking than I do and could quickly determine the cause of this epic fail with the Ambrosia maple apple pie.
So I cut up the pie, dishing out equal portions, and delivered them to the waiting family members gathered around the dining room table. I apologized for the presentation of the piece of pie that had soaked the entirety of their dessert plate and said they didn’t have to eat it, as I had no idea what to expect from the taste.
I was overwhelmed with what happened next. “This is really good” and “These apples are really sweet” were like rallying cries of triumph. Although the pie was an absolute mess, literally, the taste was not impacted. I sat in astonishment at this turn of events and was so thankful when Becca got up and asked, “Is there any more? How about seconds?”
So. Much. Love. That’s what my heart was full of when the family spoke words of affirmation for a flooded Ambrosia maple apple pie.
Too often, I am quick to wallow in my self-pity. Too often, I am unaware of the moments when God shows up right around the dining room table. Too often, I miss the sacredness in the ordinary. But not that day. An apple pie led to a dining room moment full of praise. O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.
Blessings,
David
Ambrosia Maple Apple Pie – February 2024
Photo credits – David Blackman