Chapter Twenty-Two – Hidden Beauty
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| Yvonne Pat Wright |
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| From Spice To Eternity |
Ginger: Ginger is perhaps most commonly known for its
medicinal properties rather than as a spice. This little
piece of root is another of God’s gifts to us. The variety of
its medicinal uses range from disorders of the digestive
system, dyspepsia, flatulence, colic, for coughs and colds,
aches and pains and several other ailments.
The spice ginger has a distinctive flavour. A bite on a
root of ginger will produce a tasteless burning sensation in
the throat.
Ground or grated and used in cooking, ginger adds a
distinctive flavour to Asian, Indian and Caribbean dishes and
brings its own flavour to baked products.
Ginger rhizome is unattractive and could easily be
overlooked because of its appearance.
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It would be unkind to call him silly, though that is what
almost everyone in the village thought he was. His speech was
a slow drawl and you could see that it took great effort for
him to even form the thought and then speak it.
When the other boys and girls made plans for outings, he
was never included. No one wanted a date with him.
But Dan had his eye on a particular girl. She did not
live in the village. He had only seen her twice, but he knew
he loved her. Every day he dreamed of the time when he would
be brave enough to ask her to go out with him.
While he dreamed he made plans. He was saving most of
the money he received from his job in the carpenter shop.
From odd bits left over from customers’ jobs, he began
building an exquisite set of decorative household items. He
made sure the joints fitted perfectly. Then he sanded the
pieces to perfection, so that when the spray polish was put on
they shone like crystal. He was making these for his love and
one day when the complete set was finished, he was going to
give them to her and ask her out.
It was the day after Christmas that Dan decided he was
going to give Irma her gift. He dressed in his best suit, his
hair was nicely cut and his face gleamed with a broad smile.
Armed with his precious gift, Dan caught the bus that
would take him to Irma‘s house in twenty minutes.
Irma sat on her verandah wondering what the Lord had in
store for her. She knew she was attractive and all the local
boys wanted to take her out. She had not given in to any of
them because she had often heard them talking and knew what
was uppermost in their minds.
“Where,” she cried out to the Lord, “is that special
young man, chosen by you for me?”
As she finished her heartfelt prayer her eyes shifted to
the road in front of her. She saw a young man coming towards
her carrying a heavy package.
At first she thought it was Dan, the village silly,
although she never thought of him that way. As the figure
approached Irma exclaimed, “No it can’t be!”
This young man looks so attractive and he is coming right
here.
As Dan neared her house, Irma’s recognized him.
Stuttering, Dan blurted out the question he had carefully
prepared, while stretching out his hand with the gift towards
her.
“Would you like to go for a ride on the bus with me?” he
stuttered
“You’re asking me out?” exclaimed Irma. She could not
believe her good fortune. Dan was sure he was being rebuffed.
Only when she stretched out her hand to take the package from
him did he realise that she was willing to go out with him.
The broad smile which had initially disappeared from his face,
returned.
Months later, Irma sat on her verandah recalling the
beautiful memories of that day, in between jotting down notes
for her upcoming wedding.
Dan had been charming, kind, tender, funny and
thoughtful. The drive on the bus to Kingston had been a
special treat, and the hours spent at Devon House just seemed
to rush by. There was so much to talk about, and strangely
enough Dan’s stuttering disappeared. How could anyone ever
think of him as silly? He was confident, clever, funny and
even now she still chuckled when she remembered some of the
jokes he told her that day.
By the time they said goodbye, she knew that she had
found the man of her dreams. He was everything she wanted in
a man, the one she would spend her life with.
The villagers still wonder to this day, what she saw in
Dan the village silly.
The Bible prophesied that Jesus would be thought of in a
similar fashion. “For He (Jesus) shall grow up before Him (God
the Father) as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground.
He hath no form or comeliness, and when we shall see Him,
there is no beauty that we should desire Him.” Isaiah 53:2
NKJV.
Now two thousand years since He lived here on earth,
Jesus is the heart’s delight of millions of persons.
Throughout the ages, persons have discovered in Him,
tenderness, care, thoughtfulness, generosity, humour, strength
and unconditional love.
He is hardly chosen for His beauty, but for His heart of
love that gave us the most precious gift we’ll ever receive,
forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life with Him.
Recipe: Gingered Salmon
Ingredients
2 skinless salmon fillets about 4 ounces each
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon maple syrup
2 green onions, chopped
Method
Place salmon fillets in an dish. Mix together olive oil,
garlic, grated ginger, soy sauce and onions. Pour over salmon
and let stand for 30 minutes.
In an oven proof dish, place salmon fillets without the
marinade. Bake for 10 minutes 200F. While the salmon place is
in the oven, pour the marinade into a saucepan. Cook on medium
heat until all the mixture is blended into a sauce.
Serve on the side with the salmon.
