sweating salt

Tonight Liz and I made Fish ‘N Chips. Oh my UKish (including British, Irish, Scottish) friends would be proud of my attempt at “Chippies.” For a bit more flavor we added garlic and onions to the dish…I must admit the fish were baked not fried. But here’s my point, the meal was tasty. We could not have succeeded without a bit of seasoning especially from the garlic and onions. It was in the midst of this process that we decided that working with this organization has really blessed us by allowing us to be single. Otherwise, we would try to avoid such smelly meals like these in order to be even remotely attractive. “Yes,” I said. Single…for tonight, it’s great.” Meanwhile Liz said, “Yes, I like onions and garlic. [sarcastically snorting at singleness]” Apparently, even a great meal can’t attract one to a nun's life forever.

What is attractive in life is some spice. We’re meant to be salt of the earth.
Season it. Preserve it.

Salt gives a bit of extra flavor to a dish and helps bring out the goodness already inherent in the food. The same is true about us. We can provide a joy and perspective of possibility to life that might otherwise seem hopeless, flavorless, and unworthy of being tasted.

Salt helps keep meats from rotting, a practiced used in tropical places that don’t have refrigeration. Again, as salt we have an opportunity to seek out and bring about the potential in the world. We make a difference for good through our thoughts, words, and actions. No one can deny that the world is rotting with wars, disease, corruption, and heartache, but by really rubbing deep into the world, these rotting agents will shrink away. The world will last for future generations of salt lovers to enjoy it.

How do we maintain such a quality without sweating garlic or stinking of potato chips?
Rubbing in salt sums it up. We have to be intentional about this. Meat sprinkled with salt is just salty rotten meat that might bring a smile to one person. That’s before it hits the stomach, of course, where nightmares will occur. But with salt rubbed in, really taken care of for preservation, the meat will be good to eat long after it should have rotted away. The world needs us to be intentional about caring for the creation, the people, and the cultures.