Creative Failure

My new found desire to cook has lead to a painful creative failure. You see, I'd rather not try a new recipe with anyone other than my family, but a good friend was over for dinner and I thought I'd try one anyhow. I believed she would not humiliate me should it be a disaster.

"Panini with Brie Cheese, Basil and Chocolate." Yes, you read that line correctly. A recipe that got a ton of rave reviews... a chocolate and cheese grilled sandwich (panini) that included basil. Interesting, you agree? I asked my friend if she was up to the challenge of trying something so odd and she didn't shy away from the opportunity (probably because she knows Roma's Pizza is walking distance from my kitchen.)

As I assembled the panini I kept thinking to myself, "this is so weird!" I bet my friend was thinking the same thing, but she kept a bright and happy smile on her face so that her real thoughts would not show through. I placed the sandwiches on the grill and waited for them to become all toasty brown and melty. Finally, the anticipated moment arrived - we sat down to try this confusing combination.

"Okay, here we go. Are you ready?" I bravely asked, holding the hot sandwich to my mouth.

"As ready as I'll ever be." My friend replied.

CRUNCH-ooooze... Chocolaty ~ cheesy ~ basily. A few wordless moments passed between my friend and me, as we attempted to assess the myriad of flavors and decide whether or not we liked it.

The verdict was in. The jury has concluded: That is one STRANGE sandwich. It wasn't horrible. But it wasn't good, either. However, we finished them. Would I make that sandwich again? Not so sure. The saving grace was a big of Frito's corn chips. We peeled open the gooey panini and heavily layered the salty Frito's between the cheesy bread slices. That made it slightly tastier.

Shockingly, we didn't call Roma's Pizza that night.

That night, in the moment when the brie, basil and chocolate danced across my taste buds, a thought passed through my mind, "You can not cook, woman! What are you thinking?"

It's easy to have our creativity squashed like a bug (bad visual after eating that panini.) I felt like I failed. Part of me wanted to give up on cooking and go back to my non-cooking life - a life where creative failure never happened, at least, not in the kitchen. Then I made myself realize that I didn't fail. The recipe failed me. It just wasn't a combination I liked.

Every creative effort does not end in brilliant success. We put so much weight on the the final product and when it doesn't meet our expectations, we claim failure and too often, we quit. However, the important part of a creative endeavor is the journey to the final product. God teaches us so much on that journey, if we listen. And He even reveals things to us that are simple and beautiful. While building the strangest sandwich that's ever crossed my lips, my friend and I experienced real community as we chatted about God's movement in our lives, laughed at one another and tried something new (a panini we'll probably never again eat.) Now, that is creative success.




What we deem as creative failure is based, often, on the end result. Can you consider that the real growth happens when we seek and find God's hand as we travel the creative journey with Him, no matter the end result. Maybe God just desires us to show up and...try.



Grace & peace ~ deAnn

If you think I'm joking about that recipe, click here and try it for yourself. Maybe you'll fall in love. Let me know what you think!