The garlic makes the soup

Sometimes, it's the little, unnoticed things that make the difference

By J.C. Barnett III

I’m at one of my favorite restaurants, eating a bowl of soup, and I get to the end. It was a bowl of seafood soup. Man, oh, man, do I love this soup.

It is a magical combination of shrimp, squid, fried fish, and shrimp patties, and the broth — oh, that broth — just makes you feel good. I could eat soup 365 days out of the year and never get tired of it. So, you can imagine how I’m feeling to have a chance to sit down and enjoy this soup.

I get to the end of my soup. The entire time I’m eating this soup, the flavors have sort of asserted this dominance over me. I’m thinking to myself, it just doesn’t get any better than this. I’m looking at each bite, and I’m slurping the broth, eating all of its contents.

If you can’t tell, the broth is my favorite part. There’s just something about a good flavorful broth that brings me comfort, even when it’s warm outside. It probably goes back to when I was a kid dealing with anxiety.

Well, I get to the end of this soup, and all the substance is gone. There’s nothing left of the soup except me and the broth. I get my big, plastic spoon and begin to work on finishing the broth, and I notice these amazing little pieces of garlic floating around as little feathers would in a gentle breeze.

I put my spoon down. I sit back. And I smile.

I say to myself, “It was you, Garlic.” Laughing, “It was you … all this time, it was you! Garlic, you MADE this soup! I couldn’t see you in the beginning. I couldn’t even distinctly taste you. But you were there all along.”

Isn’t this the goodness and faithfulness in which our Heavenly Father operates?

“The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.” - Psalm 145:17

Even when I tried to grieve You with my silliness, when I tried to quench You, You were always there! You stayed with me and still spoke to me through your Holy Spirit. What is life without you, God?

Now, I know how much I need You. I know that You were working even when I didn’t want to recognize you. Mighty Spirit of God, continue to bless us, bless Your people, and bless those who’ve yet to receive You, yet long for You.

I see You even in the garlic of my soup today.