So, I burned the popcorn a little. It was just the very center of the bottom of the pan, but still, it didn’t smell good! I thought, “Hmmm... that’s strange,” and started making the second batch (big family, you know). I was also making a huge pot of chicken, barley, cabbage soup, and this demanded some attention. So much, that... well, I kinda’ forgot that I was also making popcorn. Until the acrid black smoke started pouring out from under the popcorn pan lid! Mom hurried the pan outside onto the deck and we waited until it stopped smoking as badly, in the meantime, opening all the windows and doors we could. Talk about a headache! My head was pounding; popcorn stinks when you burn it! The popcorn was BLACK. Sooo, I started all over again after scraping as much of the black burned-popcorn-residue off the bottom of the pan. This time, the center of the bottom of the pan burned again! More burning popcorn smell. Finally, Dad figured out it was burning right there because the bottom of the pan was warped, so I needed to use more oil so the entire bottom of the pan would be covered.
I felt really dumb about that because I’ve made huge amounts of popcorn many, many times before... and it’s been fine! (Of course, at those other times, I was using the right pot... the one that was full of chicken soup that night.) So, I felt like a klutz. A popcorn failure. This was like one of those books I dislike where the girl is clumsy about all sorts of homey things (you know, always burns the food when she tries to cook, always breaks dishes, always messes something up...) I want to be an awesome mommy... great start, right?
That’s how I was feeling until the Holy Spirit shook me and said, “Hey... quit with the pity party.” And then I remember that someone I know had failed an important test just that morning. His was important to his college studies, which was ultimately important to his role as a man. My failure was also to my home studies, which was ultimately important to my role as a woman. His response: a little discouraged, but “God’s still in control. It’s not the end of the world.” My response? Uh, well... pouting, huffing, being unhappy with myself for failing, listening to all sorts of dumb lies that I was a failure and wasn’t going to be a good homemaker...
So it really comes down to faith in God! “God’s still in control. It’s not the end of the world” Really, just a few things will matter when it is actually the end of the world! And burnt popcorn isn’t one of them.
