Basic Pilaf ---------When Comfort Isn't Godly

Prep:
You'll make the brown rice and the wild rice separately, mixing them together once they are fully cooked. Have two pots on hand, along with the package directions for each type of rice. All proportions should be based on the package directions.

Ingredients:
-Brown rice
-Wild rice
-Broth (chicken or beef)
-Worcestershire sauce
-Soy sauce
-Butter
-Salt
-Garlic

Directions:
1. Read the package directions for both the brown and wild rice. Plan to cook based on a ratio of 1:3. For every portion of wild rice, make three portions of brown.
2. As you follow the package directions for each type of rice, substitute all of the water with broth. Chicken or beef broth (or both mixed together) give the rice a yummy flavor.
3. When you begin to boil the broth and butter according to directions, add a dash of Worcestershire sauce and about a tablespoon of soy sauce to both pots.
4. Stir in the rice and allow to simmer for as long the package instructions say. Be sure not to disturb the rice -it cooks best when left t

o simmer, covered, by itself.
5. When the cooking time is up, use a fork to fluff the rice. Sprinkle in garlic and salt meanwhile. Cover each pot, again, and allow to rest at least five minutes.
6. Finally, stir the two types of rice together, adding dry seasoning as you see fit.

Note!
Rice is super easy to freeze and reheat. No thawing time required. Simply scoop rice into freezer safe bags (individual portions are a good choice) and seal, squeezing the air out. Freeze. When you want the rice, open the bag and pop it into microwave for one minute. Flip the bag over, and microwave another minute, or until ready.

Thoughts on Ungodly Comfort

A woman I work with posed an interesting question today. She asked me and a few others around, "do you ever feel like just curling up in a ball and crying for hours?"

The answer, of course, is "yes."

How can you not sometimes feel that way? Maybe curling up and crying isn't the way you express frustration and sadness, but you still feel these things.  

"Yes, of course" isn't the answer I wanted to give her though. Instead there was that oh-so-well-known pause. My subconscious immediately jumped in....make her feel better! Tell her it's okay! Fix it, quick! Be positive and happy! 

My impulse (and I suspect other's have found this in their hearts as well) is not to find out what's going on and step alongside someone in their hurt. Rather, I want to tell others not to feel in ways that are hard. I believe the lie that we aren't supposed to be sad or frustrated. I jump at the chance to "fix" what I immediately assume is broken. 

What an ungodly response I am eager to give. 

Is it Christlike to act like suffering is not part of life? Is it Christlike to react to the troubles of this world as if they are unexpected issues? Is it Christlike to fill in holes as soon as see them, assuming that God didn't dig them out? Is it Christlike to offer comfort without any thought of the Lord?

Certainly offering comfort to others can reflect the love of Christ. But that doesn't automatically make it the Godly option in every situation. Sometimes we are to step alongside someone and listen, demonstrating the Lord's care without asserting ourselves as mini-saviors. 

At times, we have to tell others that they are right to be frustrated and sad: this world is broken and pretending that it isn't sets people up for unrealistic expectations of the world and themselves. 

In other instances, we have to say that we have nothing to offer, except for the hope of Christ. There are also situations in which we don't know what to say -but we can pray.

It's almost funny, honestly, that I'm so quick to want to offer a fix instead of relying on the Lord to provide His response. It's funny because I can't stand it when other people respond to my hurt or struggles as if comfort is all that matters. Some of the people the Lord has used most in my life to lead me and point me to Him are those speak the truth of Jesus' promise in John 16:33:

"In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, for I have overcome the world". 

We live in a broken, fallen world. We can't fix it. It will be difficult. We don't have to pretend otherwise. But we have one hope to rely on and remember in all things: that Christ has won and He is Lord. 

Lord, make me able to exemplify this. Destroy my habit of offering what comes easiest, which ultimately achieves nothing.