Making Cream of Wheat

One of my husband's favorite things to eat for breakfast is Cream of Wheat. Cream of Wheat is a finely ground wheat cereal. I don't know if you have ever made it, but it is a real pain! It seems that my impatient nature can cause Cream of Wheat to become lumpy. So, I have perfected a tedious method to get it just right! Thirty seconds in the microwave over and over again with stirring in between each cooking time. For me, this seems like a prison sentence in front of the microwave! If I begin doing something else and forget to stir at the proper time, it will get lumpy! Ugh!!

Now, my husband knows this is not my favorite thing to cook, so he graciously does not ask for it if I offer to make breakfast. So, it takes a suggestion from me to start this tedious process. You might be asking yourself, why would she offer if she hates to make this? I believe with this gesture, I communicate love and sacrifice to my husband. It is an expression of love overriding my own preference. I believe this kind of action strengthens my marriage. If he was asking for it, then it would not be a gift from me. So we have an unsaid agreement. If I offer, I am giving him a gift and he really appreciates it.

This may seem small and insignificant, but these things add up to make a great marriage. It is also these small disciplines of dying to my own perferences which help me to become less selfish and more selfless. Ephesians 5:1-2 says; "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Now what Jesus did on the cross for me can hardly be compared to making Cream of Wheat. But I believe by going through this routine about once a week, I am creating a habit of sacrificing for my husband. Then when the harder stuff comes, I have been through a bit of training. In order to live a life of love, I will have to make sacrifices, because love is an action word.

Making Cream of Wheat is good for me. If you know me much, you know I have had a lifelong struggle with my strong will. It is good for my flesh to do what it does not want to do! I have many systems in place in my life to deliberately take me out of my comfort zone and into uncomfortable circumstances. Most of these places are much rougher than making Cream of Wheat, but this spot in front of the microwave with spoon in hand is a great training ground. God calls us to "put the interest of others before ourselves." It is a good practice for me to step out of my own wants and desires and serve my husband and the other people God has put around me. So tomorrow morning when I would much rather flip pancakes which I find fun and satisfying, I will get up and offer my husband the breakfast of his dreams! Once again, I will make Cream of Wheat!