Banana Cream Pies

Last night I dreamed I’d been hired to bake 500 banana cream pies as preparation for a prestigious event.  It was a one-person job, or at least I was not aware of any helpers in the kitchen with me.  (I know – dreams are weird.)

Rolling the crusts was a marathon in itself, but then I pricked each one a hundred times all-over with a fork to keep air bubbles from forming.  Meanwhile, giant cauldrons of custard stood on the stove requiring constant stirring to avoid scalding – their fragrant steam billowed like giant clouds that threatened to suffocate me.  Boxes upon boxes of bananas had to be peeled and sliced into the baked shells, and then topped with custard that was poured with enormous, heavy, industrial-sized ladles. Then what about whipping so much meringue?  It climbed the sides of the bowl and tried to overflow again and again, or else I beat the egg whites until they were too dry and had to start over!  What about refrigerating all these pies so they could firm up?  How could I possibly manage a project of such overwhelming proportion?

There were countless obstacles and seeming dead ends.  I had a choice: to give up and quit, or else mentally fling aside my doubts, maintain my commitment, trust that others had accomplished such feats in the past, rely on supernatural guidance and strength, and plow ahead to meet my goal. 

I think those banana cream pies were trying to teach me a lesson; Hebrews 12:1-3 was on my mind when I woke.