July 17, 2025
We call it “Spice of Life,” and it’s a family favorite.
Wait. Let me start at the beginning…
Way back in the early 1990s, Baptist Student Union teams came to our church at First Baptist, Belfry.
It was electric, though that sounds cheesy. High-energy college students invaded the brick and mortar of our congregation like never before. They brought interpretive movements (What the thunder?), performed skits (Had I ever seen a skit before?), shared brutally honest testimonies, sang, and used puppets that are still memorable after three decades. It was the first time I had heard the song “Big, Big, House” or of a group called DC Talk.
Our pastor, Steve Rice, invited them and they blew the doors off ministry as we had known it. (I’m getting tears and chills as I write.) Not only did those college girls and guys share Jesus with us, but we got to share eastern Kentucky hospitality with them. Dividing them up into smaller groups, they stayed in our homes.
Back to the Spice of Life. One of those life-changing, spirit-charging weekends, a team of guys was our guests. I still remember finding our best towels – ones without holes – for them to use.
We needed to feed them. In those days, we were high on Jesus but low on funds. We would have to use what we had.
My beloved, the better cook, scoured the cabinets and fridge to assess the possibilities. He found potatoes, onions, taco shells, eggs, and cheese. Didn’t sound very exciting, but he went to work.
In a large skillet, he fried the potatoes he’d cut in small cubes, then added the onions. After whipping up the eggs, he stirred them into the potatoes. He broke up the taco shells and folded them into the mix. When it was all tender, he covered it with shredded cheese. It made a huge pan, was enough for our company to eat their fill, and was FABULOUS!
One of the guys, named Thomas, asked what it was called. My beloved pondered for only a moment and announced, “Spice of Life.” It’s what we’ve called it ever since. He took ordinary, simple ingredients we had on hand and did something unexpected and wonderful.
That’s what God does today. He uses what we have - our past, personality, passions, and gifts - to do unexpected and wonderful things. The Bible is full of stories where God gave regular, ordinary people the courage to step up and be used by Him. Just like those college students who came to our church. They were young, excited about Jesus, and were fearless in sharing Him with others. I don’t know where they are now, but I am still extremely thankful for their ministry!
Ephesians 2:10 reminds us, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” I guess you could say we’ve been His “Spice of Life” all along.
Family and friends have enjoyed Spice of Life ever since that day when my beloved created it. We had it this week and reminisced about how it came to be. What simple ingredients of your life (or in your kitchen) can God use to bless others?
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Dawn Reed is a pastor's wife, newspaper columnist, and the author of Weiner Stew: Inspiring Stories from Appalachia. Reach her at preacherswife7@yahoo.com.
