Fleur de Sel

On Sunday I ate the most amazing chocolate caramel tart. It was called 'Fleur de Sel' which if I remember my high school French correctly means 'Flower of Salt'. Interesting name for it, but oh - so - good. The pastry was just as it should be, not too thick and perfectly cooked. In the bottom was a layer of caramel, which I have to admit wasn't the most amazing caramel I've ever tasted, but as it was topped by a layer of thick chocolate ganache it was definitely forgiven any faults. And then the twist. A sprinkle of sea salt. "What?", you exclaim, perplexed by this turn of events. But it worked. And it worked really well. Added to which I was drinking a pretty decent coffee at the time and it made my day.

Now for the past year I've been in Uganda where things like the 'Fleur de Sel' are not even uncommon, they are just not there. Little unique, boutique cafes for some reason, don't abound in downtown Mbarara. Maybe one reason is that people would rather feed their families than go out for coffee, which is fair enough.

I'm having a little trouble reconciling one with the other. Especially if I think about it all too much. So I try not to.

Sometimes I swing wildly between enjoying and savouring the moment, which I think is important, and being utterly convicted by the excess that is my life.

I don't like living in the tension between these extremes (hence the trying not to think about it all ploy). To always enjoy the moment means that I forget about what it is I've been trying to do for the last year. And that in that time while I was away, it didn't feel like I was making a particularly big sacrifice, I was content with what I had (for the most part). But to always live under the conviction that my life is excessive takes away a certain enjoyment that I think life is meant to be lived with. After all as a Christian I read John 10:10 in the Bible where it says that Jesus came to give us life in abundance, in all its fullness. A rich and satisfying life. Now I don't take that to mean that life is only real life if you have lots of stuff. No, I see that as having true enjoyment, real joy even when you're in the middle of tough circumstances. Or when you are eating your 'Fleur de Sel' and drinking coffee in Chico, CA. Or when you have cold and don't particularly feel like writing this blog that you've committed to. Or when you have grumpy kids to deal with, or the bank balance isn't looking healthy, or you got a great new job, or you've just started the study you've always wanted to do.

Wherever you are, whatever you do, real, true joy is there to be had.

And it's this I keep in mind when I think of HOPE and all it does. Because whether I'm the one over there doing the stuff, or I'm over here (okay so 'over here' could refer to Australia, or, my place of residence for the next month, the US) advocating for all that it does, I can experience real, true joy in every situation and circumstance.

So I have enjoyed and made the most of my experiences, whether making a dinosaur cake for a friends six-year-olds birthday party, listening to someone talk about her work with rebel soldiers in the bush in DRC, worshipping God while singing songs that I understand the words of or having great conversations with friends that I haven't seen in a long time.

And just in case you missed it, I REALLY enjoyed that chocolate tart.

Blessings

bron