I’ve never claimed to be an Iron Chef or Chopped worthy contestant. But I’m a decent cook, I guess. Ask my husband and kids, they’ll give it to you straight. I’ve been eying this delicious looking recipe on the ever-so-addictive Pinterest and decided I’d put my skills to the test. You will not believe it. I. Chopped. Garlic. For the first time ever this past week. Yep. Me. The girl who’s been a dedicated consumer of garlic powder since the beginning of time. Basically it’s because I’m a crazy texture freak. I can’t take things that make a weird crunch. Chips are fine, but I can’t do carrots, onions, apples, strawberry seeds freak me out, and of course garlic. And that’s the short list.
If it weren’t for my friend Bekah, I honestly don’t think I would make anything edible. She’s passed so many amazing recipes my way and I’m always texting her with my list of 20 questions. She probably thought I was a complete idiot the other day. I needed 2-3 garlic cloves for this recipe. I went to Wal-Mart, bought what I thought were garlic cloves and after texting her what I bought, I realized I had bought a pound and a half bag of garlic bulbs. Not cloves. Did you hear me say a pound and a half? Yeah. Just checking. I’m an idiot.
So after she finishes laughing at my stupidity, or perhaps blissful ignorance, she then texts me a hilarious demonstration of how to properly slaughter the garlic into useable cooking material. I have included her how-to guide at the end of this for your entertainment. haha She’s going to kill me. Much like she did the garlic. LOL
The recipe turned out pretty decent and I had a TON of leftover garlic bulbs to freeze. I finally got tired of my kitchen smelling a smidge like garlic so I knocked that out tonight. So I had to whack the garlic bulbs until the cloves came loose and ended up freezing almost a quart sized bag. That was fun. Not.
As I’m smashing the bulbs, my mind starts wandering. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. It tells us that plain and clear in 1 John 10:10. He has extreme hatred in his heart, well if he even has a heart, against us. Just for living and breathing and trying to please God with our lives.
As I first started smashing the garlic, it was so hard to get the cloves to pop out. But the more I worked at it, the easier it came as I modified my technique. And that’s where the devil comes in. As years have gone by, he’s learned where our buttons are. He tries to woo us in one area and when we don’t stumble, he either pushes harder or he moves on to another area in our life.
But one thing is for sure, he’s no dummy. He’s had plenty of time to study our flawed humanity. From his first notch in his belt in the Garden of Eden tempting Eve and then Adam to eat the forbidden fruit all the way to Hitler in Europe during WWII and rapists and serial killers roaming the streets and back alleys. He’s tempted and tried us and many times we’ve fallen under pressure and there he is beating his hands on his chest like Tarzan assuming the victory. His evil plan prevailed. He thinks.
We don’t have to play dead or accept defeat. Romans 8:37 encourages us that, “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” Overwhelming victory. Not just winning by the skin of our teeth. Not skating by at the last second. Overwhelming, amazing, incredible victory. We have this promise as heirs of Christ! We have royalty in our blood!
We can come to this astonishing realization and walk proudly knowing who we are in Him, but what happens when the rest of our brothers and sisters aren’t on board? Another thing that I realized in perfecting my garlic demolition was that when I smacked the bulb on the head (or whatever you call it) really hard, a few pieces would remain under the knife, but several of the cloves would scatter. I had to play fetch with some of them and found some in the floor and some behind my utensil jar on the counter.
The enemy likes to try this method in families and churches. You’re just minding your own business when all of a sudden… WHACK!!! Something slams you in the face and you’re either under the knife or running for dear life. Some larger than life circumstances lie in front of you and you’re scratching your head. Some run. Some retreat. Some leave families behind. And others stay cuddled together under pressure and wait it out. Patiently. Faithfully. Together.
Don’t think Satan doesn’t know the concept of Ecclesiastes 4:12, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” I told you, he’s no dummy. His plan is to divide and conquer. Because where there’s division, there’s chaos. And where there’s chaos, no one is able to hear each other over the noise.
We’ve got to find a safe place. Troubles will still come. We aren’t guaranteed a first class ride on Easy Street. That would be totally boring anyway. We have got to stick together. Stop turning on each other. We need each other. Pray for divine connections and relationships. That’s been my heart’s earnest prayer for months now. God, surround us with people who will love us, connect with us, and stand with us and be armor bearers for us. People who will lift us up when we’re down and those who will step up and be like Aaron was for Moses when he was weary from the battle.
I’ve had several people message me or tell me in person that they feel compelled to pray for our family against the attacks of the enemy. It can’t come at a more appropriate time because the devil has really been fighting us since we accepted the calling to pursue this new journey God has us on. God has sent prayer warriors our way to be this triple-braided cord that can not easily be broken. Don’t forget the words from Matthew 18:20, “ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
You can’t make it on your own. Stop trying. Look around at where you are. God may have you in this season for a reason. Maybe He’s trying to grow you spiritually. Maybe it’s so you will lean on Him and stop relying on everyone else to save you. Whatever you do, make sure you’re prepared and ready because the chopping and smashing is coming. I’m praying for you.
Live Life Unscripted,
❤ Brittany
Prepare to be blown away…. Courtesy of Bekah. 🙂
Life Unscripted 
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