Humble Pie

Currently, one of my favorite T.V. shows to binge watch is The Great British Baking Show on Netflix. I love the ingenuity of the show and seeing the bakers nail (or sometimes fail) their bakes (translation: this is apparently how one refers to the sweet treat they’ve created in Great Britain). There’s a certain charm to the show: cookies are referred to as biscuits and must have a good snap to them, pastries and pies are always checked for soggy bottoms, trash cans are referred to as bins (which I think is just darling), spices are pronounced entirely different than your American vernacular is accustomed to, and the best of bakes are deemed cracking (translation: very impressive or effective). Ahhhh. 🙂 It just makes me want to don an apron, develop a British accent, and create something scrumptious that is worthy of Star Baker status.

I’ve watched a lot of cooking competition shows over the years, but I truly believe that this one is my favorite. I think one of the things that makes this show stand out so much from all of the others is the atmosphere of it. In most of the other shows I’ve watched, the feel is ultra-competitive, cutthroat, and intense. This is not the feeling I get from The Great British Baking Show. The atmosphere is much more relaxed and congenial. The competitors encourage each other and, I believe, honestly wish the best for each other. I can’t speak to whether or not this is completely true-to-life, but it certainly provides a much friendlier environment on camera.

One of the things I’ve found most intriguing about this aspect of the show is that the competitors will actually help each other out. If one baker is really struggling, others will jump into action and pitch in. I’ve often thought, “Really, Ruby??? You’re going to let a competitor be the one to place that third layer on your cake? Aren’t you worried they’ll knock it off on purpose???” But nothing like that ever happens. People are always eager to assist and will do whatever they can to help a fellow baker actually get their bake to the end of their bench before time is up. It’s a very heartwarming thing to see and makes me secretly wonder if the British are way nicer to each other than we Americans are…a thought for another day! 😉

However, sometimes there is a baker who is struggling to finish their bake, but they are not receiving help from others in this time of crisis. I’ve even seen shots of competitors kicked back enjoying a cup of tea after they’ve finished their bake while the person next to them is running around in a crazed whirlwind of powdered sugar, unable to even think entirely straight about what they need to accomplish in the time that is left. What is this phenomenon? Why are some people helped while others aren’t? Has that baker created some enemies off screen to their own detriment? Do the other bakers see that person as such a threat that they just want them out of the way, no matter what?

While I can’t say for certain, I believe that the main reason why occasionally people do not receive help from others on the show is merely this – they did not ask.

Time after time, I’ve seen people in need turn to the person at the workstation next to them and say, “Can you help?” And without question, that person goes running to assist. Sometimes a whole army descends to help one person when maybe there’s someone else a few feet away in the same level of distress, unable to finish on their own. The difference – one person reached out and asked for help; the other was too caught up in the task at hand to look up and see that there were resources out there available to her if she only asked.

Oh, poor bakers. I can’t fault you. Because don’t we do the same? Maybe not with our bakes, but just in life? I know I do.

So many times in life, I need help. I’m facing something that is so much bigger than me that there’s no possible way I could get through it alone, but I often think I can. I will myself to be able to tackle the problem or develop a new solution or save the day. I’m convinced of my ability to succeed. And so often, it’s because I’m looking so closely at the problem, focusing so intently on what needs to be fixed that I’m not looking up to see Who is there to help. I forget to ask.

I was reading in Deuteronomy 6 the other day. This is the chapter right after the Ten Commandments are given. A section stuck out to me in my reading:

10 And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you – with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant – and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 It is the LORD your God…

Did you catch that? All of these good and wonderful things are mentioned, but they’re always preceded by “you did not.” And then we get to the end of the verses, and we see Who did. God did all of those things for them. He promised their ancestors, even when all of those guys were busy lying, deceiving, and fighting. He provided, even when they doubted Him and His ability to help them take a land from a (perceived) bigger and stronger nation. He rescued them, even when they complained, worried, and asked to go back to their captors. Throughout it all, it was God.

Oh, Israelites. We like to give you a bad rap, don’t we? You’re the constant lesson of “don’t do this.” But I’m the same way. My story could be: God promised me that He would give me His power to face any temptation, but I gave in to temptation when the pressure felt too strong. God provided for me, but I spent too much time trying to protect all of the blessings I’d been given and do whatever I could to get more of them. God rescued me, but I forgot about that amazing power and incomparable gift and didn’t share what He’d done for me with others. Same story, different main character.

But that doesn’t mean we’re finished – the British bakers, those Israelites, or me. If I take the time to stop focusing on my problems and look up, I can see that all along it’s been God Who’s gotten me this far. I have no power on my own. Nada. Zip. Zilch. It’s all Him. And if I can understand that, then I’ll be able to realize that it’s His help I need to seek in all areas of my life. And all I need to do is ask for it. That’s it! No secret ingredient needed. Just ask.

Now that doesn’t mean life will be perfect. It doesn’t mean that I’ll instantly have all of my heart’s desires. Sometimes things won’t work out at all like I hoped, but that certainly doesn’t mean that God’s not at work. That doesn’t mean He’s not helping. He is; I just don’t always know what that looks like since His ways are vastly different and better than mine. I simply need to trust Him and follow His lead, and He’ll take care of the rest.

Because His way is the epitome of cracking. And that’s better than we ever could have hoped to accomplish on our own.