When Things Come Together

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:25

It’s my new favorite! It was a long time ago, but I can still remember my first visit to Cracker Barrel. We were driving back from a trip to the holy land (Georgia), and we were somewhere north of Atlanta when we saw a sign that said, “Cracker Barrel.” We didn’t have a clue about what they served but it sure sounded good, so we pulled in and like they say, “The rest is history.” While I like a lot of what “the Barrel” serves, their breakfast has long been a favorite. Number one used to be the standard eggs, grits (no sugar), bacon, biscuits, gravy with the crown jewel of pancakes covered with butter, syrup with fried apples and whipped cream.  Whew—I almost need a nap just typing all that.  But like I said that used to be number one.  Now there is a new kid in town.

A couple of months ago I was having breakfast with my good friend Jeremy and was just checking out the menu before I ordered just to make sure I wasn’t missing something.  Turns out I was.  As my eyes went from left to right and up and down the page I saw, “Bacon N’ Egg Hashbrown Casserole.” “Hmmm” I thought and read the ingredients.  It said, “Our scratch-made Hashbrown Casserole, hot off the grill and layered with pieces of crispy bacon, farm-fresh scrambled eggs, melted Colby cheese, fried onions, and fresh diced tomatoes. Served with Buttermilk Biscuits.”

Well, shoot that thing! I thought that sounded tasty.  So, I customized it a bit (limp bacon instead of crispy and eggs sunny side up instead of scrambled) and waited for this masterpiece to come.  Soon enough it arrived, and one bite told me I was in hog heaven. You see while some folks like their food all separate, I am a food mixer and for me that made this a winner. When that spoonful of hashbrown casserole, Colby cheese, egg yolk, bacon, fried onion and diced tomatoes hit my taste buds it was like the Fourth of July all over again and a new Cracker Barrel favorite was named.

So, what made that happen? Well, I like all those different things individually but for me, and I am speaking for me, when all those flavors and different textures came together it really was awesome.  You see, with food, it is when things come together that winners are born. Let’s be honest. I’m not a big fan of flour until it lands in a biscuit. I’m not a big fan of butter until it is slathered on a biscuit—and on and on it goes.  When food things come together, Katie, bar-the-door.  But that’s not all.

You see God knew that a long, long time before Cracker Barrel. He knew that when His kids come together with Him, even the impossible becomes possible. That is why He tells us not to stop coming together, meeting together, as some people do.  When we are together on the same page big things can happen. Now don’t forget that—because I promise you Satan wants us to.  He knows apart we will have a come apart. He knows divided from each other and separated from God we are in deep weeds.  We need to stay together and close to our Dearest Daddy.  So, instead of staying home from church and staying away from God, why not do the opposite.  Do you find some people just too hard to hang with?  Well, just talk to God about it.  After all, He’s got that too.” Bro. Dewayne