I wasn’t expecting to cook the ham by myself.
We were getting ready for a Christmas Eve feast including a spiral ham, and my dad got called into work.
As an electrician, he had to go in when the weather was rough.
So, there I was alone with the ham. I was fourteen. I didn’t have a cell phone. Just a cookbook, my dad’s instructions, and my best guesses.
Everything was going fine until I went to put on the honey glaze. I took the ham out, put on the glaze, but as I was putting it back in the oven, the aluminum tray buckled and the ham rolled out the oven door and onto the floor! Eek!
Maybe you’ve felt like this before. You’re in over your head, things are out of control, and it’s all up to you. What do you do?
Well, on that day, I took action. I grabbed that ham with my two potholder-covered hands and stuck it back in the oven.
But then I started worrying: Was it ok? Was it ruined? Did I do the right thing?
And now there was honey glaze all over the place.
I closed the oven and just let it keep cooking.
I’d love to say this was the only time I felt like things were out of control, the only time that I wasn’t up to the task at hand.
The problem is, when I’m anxious and overwhelmed, I am tempted to believe that I need to handle it all by myself.
That’s not what our heavenly Father wants for us.
You can imagine my relief and joy when my dad got home and helped me pick up the pieces to put the meal together.
We laughed as we cleaned up the very sticky oven and inspected the adventurous ham. (Thankfully, it was still delicious.)
What had been a disaster was transformed when my dad was by my side.
No matter what you’re facing, whether you’re up for the challenge or completely buried by it, God is there for you.
That’s what St. Paul is teaching the Philippians in this week’s Second Reading:
“The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Rejoice and be at peace. The Lord is near. And his presence changes everything.
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Andrea Jackson is a Content Creator and Ministry Consultant at the Evangelical Catholic. The Evangelical Catholic’s mission is to equip Catholics to live out the Great Commission.
