FOOD FOR THOUGHT
(05/09/2010)
THE
LEARNING LAB
Cindy Hong
Never
having had the brains to understand what Mom and Dad did in their jobs,
it was enough knowing we had food on the table, a roof over our heads,
and an ample supply of tennis balls. Until one summer while in college
Mom helped me apply for a job in the company she worked at. While the
job consisted of early hours and dirty stinky work, it was nice knowing
we were in the same building. One afternoon I braved the maze of hallways
and found her lab. Her work area consisted of bottles of every shape,
size, and color, some lying on its sides, others covered in dust. My mouth
fell open, and before I could say anything, she said, “Don't look at
the mess, I know where everything is, just don't touch. I don't have time
to clean it up yet. I'm too busy running these experiments. Come and see.”
Knowing redirection when I see it, but dutiful daughter that I am, I followed
her to see this contraption doing what contraptions do. In this case,
it was making pharmaceutical compounds, whatever those are. When I asked,
she said something about taking starting materials and heating them up
to make something new. She mixes this with that, records the results,
tries again to remove unwanted by-products, working toward a purified
final product. Now many years later reflecting on this, it sounds like
the sanctification process. God using the raw materials on my messy workbench,
never minding the dust, debris, and broken bottles, taking the sin-laden
chemicals and creating a new way of being and living with him. And somehow,
ever so slowly, new compounds get made, new ways of believing and behaving
are created, purifications applied as needed. Slowly we become more like
Jesus Christ, as we experiment and experience his grace through spiritual
habits and rhythms in our daily lives. It's most unfortunate 364.9 days
pass by without me appreciating Mom, hardly the biblical mandate to honor
parents, but this morning, thank you, Mom, for showing me your messy lab,
echoing Jesus' invitation to “come and see,” and using chemistry
to teach me that life with God is more about perseverance than perfection.
Happy Mother's Day!
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