Restoring my Grandmother’s Cast Iron Skillets

copied from https://www.shorelinecbchurch.com/new-blog/2016/7/15/the-new-creation-in-action-the-local-church

Last year, I decided to restore my late grandmother’s cast iron skillets and I was not prepared for the journey. I kid you not, I literally finished the seasoning process almost three weeks ago!!! I like to give sentimental gifts and I thought that it would be a nice gift for my father. I THOUGHT it would be easy as a good scrub and done! Well…..

First of all, I did not know how to go about restoring cast iron skillets and had to do some research. After doing research, I realized that the restoration process took time depending on the level of rust that needed to be removed. My grandmother’s skillets had not been used in years and were very rusty. I did not realize the time & energy that would be spent restoring the cast iron skillets. For the restoration process, I bought coarse sea salt, distilled vinegar, baking soda, and steel scouring pads. Naïve me also did not realize that I needed to wear gloves and so had black fingers from the rusty & black stains after the first day. My time consisted of scrubbing, soaking, more scrubbing, and more soaking lol. Each time I wanted to give up, I reminded myself of why I was doing it.

Let’s switch gears for a moment and reflect on the process of restoring ourselves. I am so glad that I can bring my “rusted, caked-on & stuck-on yucky stuff” to God and He will restore me!!! The Bible tells us that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV). It is a process to restore, renew, and heal. Sometimes God instantly does it and sometimes it takes time but you need to know that God meets everyone where they are at. 

Whatever God is doing in your life is a different process than what God is doing in my life or somebody else’s life. Don’t get discouraged by comparing yourself to another! Sometimes God may have to “scrub” you clean, “pull” up the deep roots in your life, or “soak” you as part of the process of renewing & restoring you.  There is a season for the “scrubbing, pulling, and soaking” for this change to occur. You might have to revisit some painful or rough moments in your life but the healing is that much sweeter and the restoration brings freedom in your life! Getting in the Word of God & having his Holy Spirit as a guide helps us to be transformed & changed to be like Christ every day and his Spirit takes us from glory to glory. Whatever God is doing in your and my life right now becomes a testimony of his goodness & love.

As the Bible tells us, God is the potter and we are the clay-He molds us & shapes us into His vessels. Jesus tells us that we are the “light of the world” and “the salt of the earth”. Your “light” has always been there and just needed to be restored to shine brighter day by day. Your “salt” has always been there and just needed to be renewed for a greater seasoning flavor. When you are “seasoned”, you give off a certain “flavor” as a testament of His glory! Remember the world is fallen and sometimes the issues of life dim our lights and lessens the seasoning in our lives but thank God for his grace, mercy, and unconditional love! Allow God to continue making a change in you through His Holy Spirit. I will be the first to tell you that the change in me is only made by God himself 😊

Warm Wishes,

Carline

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hitting “Air Pockets”

Image
  Hitting “Air Pockets” These past months from May to now has been “air pocket” months. Early yesterday morning, God deposited this blog into my heart. To be honest with you, I was not going to write a blog for the ending of this year, but God said, “no, here is your blog notes. I’m gonna do a download at 6:15am in the morning!” Friends, I fought getting up because I had just gone to bed at 1:30a that morning but I got up to write this and hope it touches your heart as we end this year. My last blog was published March 2024 and as I opened my blog notes document, I saw the beginnings of a blog that I started to write but never finished.   Life can be full of bitterness, anguish, heartache, and at times, all may seem hopeless. Life for Naomi was not going according to her plan. In fact, she believed that God was working against her. Friends, there will be times in life where you’ll feel just like Naomi did. She experienced a severe famine, relocated to a new place, her ...
Read more

Crowded

Image
  There were many crowds that followed Jesus during His ministry. Jesus did so many miracles, preached to so many, and had many followers. The crowd gravitated towards Jesus, and it didn’t matter where He was or how far He had to travel. When Jesus was preaching in the temple at a young age, there was a crowd. When He got baptized, there was a crowd. When a group of friends lowered their friend in front of Jesus, there was a crowd. When He saved the woman from being stoned, there was a crowd. When He healed the woman with the issue of blood, there was a crowd. When he rose up Lazarus, there was a crowd. He fed the five thousand, not including women and children…what a crowd! I could go on, but during Jesus’ ministry, you rarely read about Jesus not having crowds around Him. The “great crowd” that was in Jerusalem before the Passover took palm branches on their way to meet Jesus. (John 12: 12-19). The crowd was shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! B...
Read more

On The Way To Bethlehem

Image
  You probably could tell the story of Jesus being born without even reading the Bible verses as reference. Just go in a store and look at their Christmas inventory. You would find scripture verses, angels, stars, wise men, shepherds, and the ever-famous Nativity scene. What is the significance of the Nativity scene? Can we integrate its importance and significance in our everyday lives? Of course we can! Its meaning is not just for Christmas time, it should be for everyday of our lives. Let’s reflect on the responses from “characters” in this story. Mary, the virgin : I am always amazed at Mary’s response during her visitation with Angel Gabriel and the posture of her heart throughout this story. Her response tells us that she accepted and was willing to be used by God: “I am the Lord’s servant…may your word to me be fulfilled.” Mary realized that her life had a greater purpose and a higher calling during her conversation with Gabriel. She even sang a song during her visit with ...
Read more