Cooking Up Faith

I love to cook. For me, it’s not just about getting dinner on the table — it’s about discovery. I rarely make the same thing twice, not because the recipes aren’t good, but because there are so many new flavors and techniques waiting to be tried. My spouse jokes that the only thing he doesn’t like about my cooking is that I almost never repeat a recipe. (Poor guy. He falls in love with a dish and wonders if he’ll ever see it again. I tell him it’s a little like chasing a comet — rare, but worth the wait!)

When I try something new in the kitchen, I step into the unknown. Will it rise properly? Will those spices work together? Will the kids eat it, or will I be eating leftovers for a week? Cooking, for me, is an adventure — one that requires trust, creativity, and a willingness to risk failure in pursuit of something wonderful.

And really, isn’t that what faith is like?

A relationship with God isn’t meant to be static. It’s not a single well-worn recipe you memorize and never change. It’s alive, dynamic, and full of opportunities to grow. Just like trying new dishes, following God’s lead invites us to experiment, to step outside of what’s comfortable. Sometimes it’s exhilarating, sometimes messy — but it’s always transformative.

In the kitchen, I’ve learned that the best meals often come from the moments when I improvise — when I trust my instincts, throw in a pinch of this or that, and let the process teach me something new. In my spiritual life, I find the same is true. When I let go of rigid expectations and allow God to work in unexpected ways, I discover flavors of grace I never knew existed.

Sure, there’s comfort in familiarity — in a beloved dish, or in a well-worn spiritual habit. Those have value, and I treasure them. But there’s also joy in trying something new: a different prayer practice, a new way of serving, or a deeper conversation with someone I’ve never truly listened to before. Each “new recipe” in faith invites me to taste more of God’s abundance, to trust that the One who nourishes us will keep providing.

My spouse may still wish I’d circle back to his favorite dinners more often, but I hope he sees what I see: a table where surprise is welcome, and where love is the constant ingredient — whether in the meal or in the presence of the One who feeds our souls.

So here’s to trying new things. In the kitchen. In our faith. And in our willingness to trust that God’s recipe for our lives — even when we don’t know all the ingredients — will turn out far better than we imagined.