Throw the Pie Crust

I remember well the kitchen in our South Milwaukee parsonage. There was not a lot of counter space, but there was enough. The day had arrived when I decided I was going to master making pie crust. Every time I used a store-bought crust, the weight of failure attached itself to my leg as I carried the pie to my guests.

For years, I had watched my mom conjure a pie crust; she simply threw some flour, Crisco, salt, and ice water together, and voilà! she had a pie crust that rolled out smoothly and magically into a circle. And then when I got married, to my astonishment, my mother-in-law had the same magic! I HAD to succeed. I was NOT going to break the pie-crust-making-chain.

Starting early in the morning, I began mixing up bowl after bowl of pie crust. As each uncooperative ball of dough landed in the trash, I would pull out another recipe, tallying the cost of ingredients in my head as I went. With each attempt, I became a ball of anger, disappointment, frustration, and sadness. I believe it was my sixth attempt when I couldn’t take it anymore and I threw the overworked ball of dough across the kitchen. I remember it sticking there for a few seconds before falling to the floor with a thud of failure.

Please tell me you know the type of frustration I’m talking about. I KNOW I’m not the only one who gets to the pie-dough-throwing point. I have watched students angrily scribble out complete paragraphs, home-grown mechanics throw tools across the garage, a three-year-old grab a handful of her sister’s hair, and an artist wad up a paper and slam it into a trash can. When soft-close cabinets were introduced, my first thought was, “So, what do I do now when I’m mad?” The slam of a cabinet door alerts everyone that trouble is brewing.

There’s just something therapeutic about taking all kinds of negative emotions and throwing them across the room.

Well, that’s where I am today, except I have nothing to throw, scribble out, or slam. I could bore you with a list of weights that have piled up, but I won’t.

What I will do, is let you know that in the midst of my emotional anguish, the words of some familiar hymns have come to my rescue. (No apology for the old-fashioned words in the hymns.)

*As I watch people try to force their beliefs on others, argue politics, and become angry over temporal things: “Take the World, But Give Me Jesus”

Take the world, but give me Jesus,
Sweetest comfort of my soul;
With my Savior watching o’er me,
I can sing though billows roll.

*While the sting of betrayal lingers and begs to grow within: “As the Deer Panteth for the Water” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-4ir05O6Tw)

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after Thee
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship Thee
You alone are my Strength, my Shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship Thee.

*When the world is topsy turvy and I don’t seem to fit in anywhere: “It Is Well With My Soul” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nJ6wQpLmuo)

When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul

It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come
Let this blest assurance control
That Christ (yes, He has) has regarded my helpless estate
And has shed His own blood for my soul

So, go ahead and throw the pie crust, then sing your favorite hymn.