PAVLOVA WITH A PURPOSE

Have you ever heard of a “pavlova?”  It’s a delicious dessert of meringue, cream and fruit on the top.  It’s a dessert I enjoy making and eating.  Whenever we have friends over, I’ll often serve this as a special treat for them.

The appetite and craving for this dessert began years ago when I first visited my mother and father-in-law in New Zealand.  My husband and I had only married a year and due to the expense of travel, his parents did not physically attend our wedding.  So, we decided we’d wait a year and visit them in their home in New Zealand.

This culture has morning tea and afternoon tea.  Due to the fact that we desired to meet many of my husband’s friends, we were often invited to peoples’ homes and, amongst other food delights, we were served “pavlova.”  The dessert actually originated in this country; although many Australians claim the title.

It is a light dessert to eat, but consuming it as often as we did for six weeks, I gained more from that trip than anticipated.   Let’s just say that my hips accelerated to one larger size in slacks.

Now, back to my story.  We were recently invited by a friend to his home to join other friends for one of his spectacular dinners.  He’s a chef-in-hiding!  I inquired if I could bring the dessert.  Our host accepted with gratitude.

This particular pavlova would be a style of presentation that I had only read about, but never endeavoured to make it.  It was two layers, separated by cream and thinly-sliced peaches.  In all honesty, I was hesitant to “try it out” on these folks due to the fact that it can flatten when moved. 

But how was I to know it could work, if I didn’t give it a try.  So, I made the pav the day before and left it in the cooled oven.  The evening of our get-together, I packed the two layers of meringues in a box, ever-so-carefully, and off we drove to the home of the gathering.

My continued thought en-route, was if we hit a pot hole on a street, it’s all over!  But all was well and our “dessert gift” was gingerly carried into our friend’s home.

Most of the guests had already arrived and were seated in the living room.  After our depositing the “delicate dessert,” we proceeded to the living room to join the others.  There was a couple there that we had never met, plus a lovely woman who were all at the other end of the room.  It seemed awkward to exchange conversation across the distance, so I waited for a closer and more intimate chat when we were all seated at the dining room table.

Most everyone there felt very comfortable in the exchange of conversation; and it seemed that when one person ceased their comments, another person picked up the oxygen and carried on with their thoughts.  Laughter abounded.

There was one woman who seemed quieter than the others.  As we were all seated, it was obvious that she and the host complimented the serving of the rest of us.  She and he worked together seamlessly in the kitchen.  You’d have thought they did this thousands of times. 

The host was a single man who had asked a friend to join him in hosting the evening and  helping serve the large group of friends.  This woman was soft-spoken and seemed to smile effortlessly as he and her served and removed the volume of spectacular cuisine coming out of his kitchen.

There was no end to the topics of conversation being exchanged at the table.  An hour or so later, it was dessert time.  I removed myself from the table and went to the kitchen to “piece and plate” this pavlova. 

In all honesty, I just wasn’t confident about pulling it all together.  I had actually prayed beforehand and asked Jesus to calm me and just help me do my best. 

I can’t help but insert a verse of care and encouragement.  

Psalm 37:23 “The Lord directs the steps of the godly.  He delights in EVERY DETAIL OF THEIR LIVES.”

This verse supports the idea of showing that God is aware of our experiences, even our tears and fears, and works all things together for our good and His good purposes.

The bottom layer of meringue was all in one piece.  Success! Just before my attempt to smother the layer with whipped cream and thinly sliced peaches on top, the “answer to my prayer” entered the kitchen!  It was Donna.   She just quietly appeared and began verbally encouraging me.   The second challenge of the evening for me was to take two spatulas and try and lift the smaller top layer onto the cream plastered over the main layer. Its delicacy was like lifting broken glass and attempting to move it to another location.

I was nervous up to this point, but the moment she began encouraging me, my heart was calm and my mind was quietly fixed on transferring this top layer onto the larger one.  One would have thought that having someone that I had never met enter the room and stand next to me would have increased my anxiety.  IT DIDN’T.   I’ll tell you why – because her calm and caring words brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart.

Donna stayed with me the entire fifteen minutes of dressing that dessert with the arrangement of cream, peach slices and passion fruit pulp drizzled on top.  WHAT A BLESSING HER PRESENCE was to me. 

God prompted Donna to leave the dining room table and join “Mrs. Fix that PAV.”  It was as though Jesus “came near to the situation;” and He used her words and presence to give me calm and confidence, all at the same time.

And no………this isn’t the end of the story.  The pavlova was “cut and consumed,” but that wasn’t the end of interfacing with Miss Donna. 

As the dining event was closing, the women came into the kitchen to sort of tidy up and chat together.  There were four of us in total, but only three of us were in focused conversation.

After a few minutes, I noticed that Donna was remaining somewhat distant in relation to where the three of us were standing and not necessarily “in the loop” with our verbal interaction.

I glanced over to her and invited her with my eyes to join in with the rest of us.  Soon after, she was sharing her thoughts with all of us.  As she paused for a moment, I addressed her personally and shared with her what an “encourager” she was to me in the “adventures of the dessert.”  I looked into her eyes and enthusiastically shared how God used her specifically to show me His care through one of His kids!

She seemed surprised, yet I feel secretly delighted that God used her upbeat and tender words of encouragement to me when I was “collaborating the cream” for the pavlova.

It was Donna’s willingness to “come alongside me” when she heard that I was a bit nervous about the coming together of those fragile ingredients.

You never know who you’re going to meet when coming together with others…friends and strangers.  God used a “pavlova” to introduce me to a caring woman who may just have needed some “encouraging ingredients” delicately introduced to her heart.

Thanks Donna, for your tender and meaningful entry to my life.