An Original Recipe

Last night I made biscuits. I love warm homemade biscuits with melted butter and a little bit of honey. They just melt in your mouth.

My grandmother makes the best biscuits. I grew up adoring going to her house for many reasons just one of which was her amazing breakfasts that included biscuits made from scratch.

Sometime before I got married (and then again after I got married), I got her to show me how to make her biscuits. The most difficult part- adding a little flour and little milk until the dough felt just right. She tried to measure out the ingredients just for me. A dash of this equals about 1/4 teaspoon and a handful of this equals around 1/2 cup. She did her best to show me and I did my best to imitate.

My imitation biscuits were not good.

They didn't turn out right no matter what I did. They were flat or dry or didn't have the right taste. Still, I wanted biscuits. I wanted to master making them from scratch.

I turned to a cookbook and found a recipe for biscuits. The recipe calls for many of the same ingredients as my grandmother's biscuits. These biscuits were a breeze to make and tasted delightful.

I was thinking about all of this last night when I made my biscuits. You see, my biscuits are not my grandmother's delicious biscuits but they are good.

As I was kneeding the dough, began to think about myself and how hard I work to be who I am.

I was reminded that I often try hard to imitate someone I look up to. I look at other people and want to be like them. I can take the steps that I see someone else taking. I can adopt the same attitude someone else has. I can try to absorb the knowledge someone else has.

However, I cannot be them.

I may have the same ideals and beliefs as someone else but that does not mean that I was meant to turn out the same. There is no cookie cutter that will yield excellence.

I have my own strengths and weaknesses. I have my own personality. I have my own unique perspective on life. To excel, I have to stop comparing myself to others.

I may not be as good as I think others are. But, I am good.

When my focus is right, when I find direction through prayer and reading my Bible, I will excel the way I am supposed to.