The Sweet Aroma of Wisdom

The Sweet Aroma of Wisdom

Angel Theodora once had strung rope in the burning steppes of South Sudan. She girded herself in courage and strength, and she arranged food convoys, and she bartered safe conduct through rebel territory, and she was a nursed-of-the-wounded owing to that fierce love she had to men and a fighting God. Those were desperate years, and her prayers were ones of protection, wisdom, and provision.

But times changed. Funding dried up, although conflicts continued to simmer around the world causing everything to be uneasy, and Angel found herself back in her native village near Pondicherry. Nestled among bougainvillea-covered colonial houses and mossy French villas, the village still held a trace of its European grandeur. Here, the winds carried the aroma of hot curries and fresh sea breeze instead of the gunpowder she once smelled.

And for this middle-aged busy bee-like personality, a homecoming after years of service as a humanitarian sounded like a confusing alteration. In the beginning, she was unable to find any meaning. At times she seemed quite lost and absent-minded. No convoys to get together, no refugees to comfort. In this state of confusion Angel recalled the words of Proverbs 9:10: (as per the TPT version- the Passion Translation), “The starting point of wisdom is to be consumed with awe as you worship Yahweh. To receive the revelation of the Holy One you must come to the one who has living understanding.”

One fine sultry Friday morning as she wandered in the market square, she got swept with the aroma of freshly baked Pain au chocolate in an ancient looking French style Le Petit Four bakery. She felt the recurrent of her school days and the hours spent in the convent bakery (St. Joseph of Cluny School), when her little fingers were pleasuring dough and when bread would have risen. At this very moment in the middle of the crowded square a tiny spark of hope flared up in her sleepy heart.

She made a dash to the nearest grocery store and brought flour, eggs, sugar and some resolution to start new. She did her worshiping as she baked. The kneading action moved rhythmically and turned into a prayer. The oven just was warming her gently and that brought memories about the refining love of God.

In baking, she discovered what she had discovered in the mission field,” a divine rhythm of faith, and waiting, and wonder”. The lady knew that the God who guided her around South Sudan was concerned with her small doses of flour-smattered prayer in her rustic kitchen. When the cares of her everyday life closed in upon her, as to which bills to pay, how to assist her poor niece, how to regain her own sense of self she also brought them to God, in a similar sense of awe and reverence.

Angel discovered that wisdom isn’t just for great missions or world-changing decisions. It’s for everyday life, for families out in cities and villages, for our struggling youth who are exposed to the crafty world. And she began to ponder on-

• What to bake for the neighbour whose husband just died?

• How to teach her grandniece to roll dough with gentleness?

• Whether to spend savings on a new oven or give to a local orphanage?

God does not have to dictate even the smallest choice of whether you wear blue or green, but He is interested in you, your fears, and your worries. When Angel was in her small bakery giving the air the sweet fragrance of warm cinnamon rolls, she knew painfully God is with me in this new season with living understanding.

Her kitchen turned out to be her pulpit. The hope that is there was the bread. and her life, once more, a witness to the truth of the fear of the Lord as the beginning of wisdom, be it in war areas, or in measuring-cups.

Reflection for Believers:

So, I have come to believe it doesn’t matter wherever you are -in a crisis zone or in a quiet village kitchen -worship and awe of God open the doorway to wisdom. Trust that HE sees your heart, big decisions and small, and will reveal His understanding to you as you walk in humble reverence.

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