Monday Reflections: The Cook

“Everything is possible…”

— Brother Lawrence

“Everything is possible for those who believe, even more for those who hope, still more for those who love, and most of all for those who practice and persevere in these three powerful paths.” — Brother Lawrence (Photo by Christie House)

When I was a chaplain at one of our United Methodist-related universities, I had the opportunity to eat at the school’s cafeteria every day. A very special man ran one of the stations. He was a cook, but he was more than that. He knew every student’s name. He remembered how you liked your meals prepared. He was always kind and invested in what students wanted to say. It was as if he used cooking as an excuse to care for them. He knew they were kids learning to be adults. He knew they were homesick. He knew when they were having relationship troubles, class troubles or any other challenge brought by adulting.

He reminded me of Brother Lawrence, who lived in the 17th century as a brother in a Carmelite community. After a short stint as a soldier, he had a profound spiritual experience that marked him for the rest of his life. He joined a religious community. Even though he despised it, he took the role of the cook, a job he exercised for the rest of his life. In his work, he learned to ask himself difficult questions. He found peace through seeing God in all things. Later, his thoughts and some of his letters were published as The Practice of the Presence of God. Recently, Carmen Acevedo-Butcher translated one of his maxims in this way,

Everything is possible for those who believe, even more for those who hope, still more for those who love, and most of all for those who practice and persevere in these three powerful paths.

Thinking about the cook at the school I worked at and about Brother Lawrence, I find the path they have chosen life-giving. It is not about food preparation but about practice and perseverance in what matters most in life. It is the practice and perseverance of faith, hope and love that make all things possible. God knows these days, more than previously, we need what seems impossible to become real, for the people we serve and for ourselves.

I would encourage you to jot down Brother Lawrence’s maxim. As you meditate or pray today, repeat it to yourself. Above all things, practice and persevere. Some things in life come by accident, but what matters most comes to us as we give ourselves to them and persevere.