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Hope and hilarity
By Chuck Terrill
Last Updated: March 23, 2017

God has a sense of humor

Let's call the frazzled mother of two teenagers "Allison." Busy moms will identify with her story. She promised to bake a cake for the church ladies' annual bake sale, but overwhelmed by life, she forgot. At the last minute, she remembered her need to bake that cake. Rising early the morning of the bake sale, Allison rummaged through her cabinets, and she found an angel food cake mix. She quickly mixed it up while drying her hair, dressing and helping her son, Bill, pack up for Scout camp.

When Allison removed the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat and the cake was horribly disfigured.

"Oh dear, there's no time to bake another cake!" The cake was important to Allison because she did so want to fit in at her new church. She longed to be part of her new community, and make some new friends. So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up the center of the cake. Allison found it, in the bathroom — a roll of toilet paper. She plunked it in the center and then covered it with icing. Not only did the finished product look beautiful, it looked perfect.

Before she left the house that Friday morning to drop the cake by the church and head for work, Allison woke her teen-aged daughter. She gave her cash, with specific instructions to be at the bake sale the minute it opened at 9:30 a.m. She was ordered to buy that cake and bring it back home.

But when her daughter arrived at the sale, she found that the attractive, perfectly frosted cake, was not on display. Someone had purchased it already. Amanda grabbed her cell phone and called her Mom. Allison was horrified; she was beside herself. Everyone would know! What would they think? "Oh, me!" she wailed. She would be ostracized, talked about, ridiculed.

That night Allison lay awake thinking about people pointing their fingers at her and talking about her behind her back. The next day, as she prayed, she promised Jesus that she would try not to think about the cake. At peace, she decided to attend the fancy luncheon bridal shower at the home of a friend of a friend that evening and try to have a good time.

Allison did not really want to attend because the hostess seemed a snob, who, more than once, had looked down her nose at the fact that Allison was a single parent and not from one of the city's founding families. But having already RSVP ‘d, she couldn't think of a believable excuse to stay home.

The meal was elegant, and the attendees were upper crust. But to Allison's horror, the cake in question was presented for dessert! Allison felt the blood drain from her face when she saw her cake. She started out of her chair to rush to tell her condescending hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet, the mayor's wife exclaimed, "What a beautiful cake!"

Allison, still stunned, slumped back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a prominent church member) say, "Thank you! I baked it myself!"

Allison smiled, relaxed, and whispered a short prayer: "God, you are an absolute riot!"

"The Lord has done great things for us! What joy!" (Psalm 126:3)

Chuck Terrill is pastor of Valley Center Christian Church. Reach him at chuck@valleycenterchristianchurch.org or 755-1233.




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