“Only in You can I find lasting Joy. There are many sources of happiness in this world, and sometimes they spill over into Joy— especially when I share my pleasure with You. You shower so many blessings on my life! I want to take note of each one— responding to Your goodness with a glad, thankful heart.”
– Jesus Listens, February 5th
I made a birthday cake this week for my mom. It was supposed to be three tiers, with a dainty Happy Birthday sign on top.
But I was in a hurry when buying the ingredients, and failed to purchase all the extra items needed to make it how I usually do—which was the semi-homemade version Mom taught me years ago. Her version.
Complete with a white cake box mix, sour cream, vanilla pudding, and egg whites. It’s the same recipe she used years before I was born, when she baked wedding cakes out of her basement (and didn’t charge nearly enough). The same recipe that today would go absolutely nuts—in a good way—on social media. She made beautiful cakes and, at age seventy-five, still does.
I’m not a great baker, but I can make a decent cake when I slow down and follow the steps. And usually when I make Mom a cake with her recipe, it’s guaranteed to be a success. But this one wasn’t. “Well,” I said to myself, “I don’t have the extra ingredients, so I’ll just make the recipe on the box.”
I shouldn’t have made the recipe on the box. I should have ventured back to the store to buy the extra ingredients needed. But I didn’t. And I knew better. The recipe on the box is too fluffy, and the cakes tend to fall apart. Or maybe it’s because I didn’t have enough patience to let the cakes cool before taking them out of the pans. Or maybe it’s because I didn’t have the usual parchment paper to cover the bottom of the pans to avoid sticking. Or maybe it’s because I’ve never been able to bake just like Mom. Either way, the first batch of cakes fell apart.
The second batch turned out better. I added flour and more butter to the bottom of the pans to avoid sticking. I waited for the cakes to cool before removing them from their respective pans. I tapped on the bottom of each pan to remove them, and they came out intact. I took my time with the frosting and added more powdered sugar and just the right amount of homemade vanilla (that yes, my mother made) to make it taste like—you guessed it—Mom’s.
In the end, the cake was two tiers and fairly tasty. We didn’t have the dainty Happy Birthday sign on top because I forgot to buy that too, but I did have a few candles. We sang “Happy Birthday” and Mom blew out a few candles. And then I cut the cake. And then that cake didn’t fall apart. It didn’t even taste that bad. In fact, I even heard my husband say, “Good cake, Les.”
As usual, I learned a few things from this cake adventure. I should really slow down a little in this life. If I want to do a job well, I need to start with all the correct materials. (My husband tells me this all the time. What does he know, anyway?) I’m stubborn. I know this about me. I’ll never be able to make a cake just like Mom. And that’s okay. It tastes better when she makes it anyway.
But I didn’t have to attempt a fancy cake to learn a truth nestled in my heart since I was a little girl: my mom shows me the way. Her attention to detail teaches the value of patience. The way she gives (and gives and gives) reflects compassion. Her gentle, steady faith points others to Jesus. Mom isn’t perfect. She’d be the first one to tell you that. But her love spills over—into her family, into her community, into her grown daughter’s attempts at fancy cakes.
Nothing could be sweeter.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Leslie Means is founder and owner of the popular website Her View From Home, which features heartfelt contributor stories on motherhood, marriage, faith, and grief. She is a former news anchor, a weekly columnist, an author of the national bestseller So God Made a Mother, and has published several short stories. She is married to a very patient man named Kyle, and together they have three fantastic kids: Ella, Grace, and Keithan. When she’s not sharing too much personal information online or in the newspaper, you’ll find her somewhere in Nebraska spending time with family and friends.
