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Did you know that the onion can be traced back to Egypt around 3500 B.C.? Onions may seem like a humble vegetable on the surface, but peel back a layer or two and you will discover some amazing facts.
Historically, onions had great importance in a variety of ways. King Ramses IV, who died in 1160 B.C., was entombed with onions in his eye sockets. Dioscorides, a Greek physician in the first century A.D., noted that onions were used to fortify and strengthen athletes for the Olympic Games. The athletes would consume many pounds of onions, drink the juice, and rub the onion flesh all over their bodies. Many attributed their success to this process. Pliny the Elder, a Roman, wrote about the onions of Pompeii. He believed onions could cure vision, induce sleep, heal mouth ulcers, dog bites, toothaches, lumbago, and control dysentery. Furthermore, people used onions for headaches, snakebites, hair loss, to pay their rent, and even for wedding gifts. Onions were regarded as a highly sought after commodity by many cultures in many lands throughout history.
You may be interested to know that in Numbers 11:5 there is a reference to the onion. The previous chapter in scripture contains the account of the Israelites fleeing Egypt during the Exodus. Whilst this people wandered in the wilderness they lamented the days in captivity when they freely enjoyed the benefits of onions among other items in their daily diets. The fertile plains along the Nile River produced many varieties of onions, some of which would have been eaten like we eat an apple today and were sweet to the taste, while others greatly enhanced the cooking process by adding flavor.
This gives me pause to think about the story of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah in Daniel 1:1-21. These young men declined the King’s rich diet in favor of vegetables, including (quite probably) onions, in order to honor God, risking the wrath of Nebuchadnezzar. Obviously God intervened, so that they would gain favor over all the other men who could consume any food they were served. However Daniel had complete faith and determined in his heart that God would help him even in the unlikely way of just eating vegetables.
As varied and numerous as all these benefits are, the onion does cause considerable discomfort when one is preparing the bulb by cutting, slicing, or chopping it up for meal preparations. It is the sulfuric compound contained within onions which produces the burning sensation from the strong vapors leading to tears. This is where my story begins.
My long lost physical family comes for lunch
On a hot summer day in the middle of January not too long ago I sought out my Grandmother’s treasured recipe book for dishes that one has to enjoy to believe. Many of these recipes contain ‘secret’ ingredients and have been handed down throughout the generations mostly by word of mouth. Thankfully I had enough presence of mind to record some of the most popular and favorite dishes because now I am the eldest surviving member of only a few left. I remember watching with eyes ‘as big as saucers’ both my paternal and maternal grandmothers making so many different and wonderful foods from all around the globe, particularly from Eastern Europe, Continental Europe, England and Australia. My selection of dishes to prepare all included onions so I had lots of chopping up to do and considered carefully because I knew it meant sore eyes. However, these dishes were tried and true favorites, so I knew there was a lot of hard work ahead and many tears.
Halfway through all the chopping up of many onions, (the biggest ones I could find, and they were whoppers) I could stand it no longer! My eyes were stinging and I hastily grabbed a cold, wet saturated sponge and threw it over my face, pressing deeply into my eye sockets to gain temporary relief. I really wanted to get this one thing done the night before the big day when my family came for lunch, but knew I had taken on far too much. I have come to learn that I am somewhat competitive and seek to please others and go to considerable lengths to serve rather elaborately (at this point I am thinking about Martha in Luke 10:38-42). Martha obviously was a pleaser too and instead of making a simple meal was involved in ‘much serving’. I think many of us who enjoy giving hospitality to our guests can empathize with Martha. When I read this story I can’t help but chuckle because Martha is so relatable to many women. She obviously felt let down by her sister Mary who was ‘taking it easy’ in her eyes. Martha sought to justify her pain by telling herself the load should be shared equitably between herself and her sister.
I sat down with a cup of ‘rescue’ tea for a few minutes of time out. I was exhausted physically and mentally and it was now very late at night. I considered carefully my options. Complete the task tonight and suffer the horrendous pain, or go to bed and tackle the rest of these onions in the morning after a good night’s sleep. To my surprise I chose the second option and went to bed defeated from my efforts. I had so many other things to do in the morning, none of which could be accomplished the night before because the food needed to be freshly prepared at the last minute. Oh well, I would look like a red-eyed raccoon when my family came for lunch and resigned myself not to worry about it.
The next day, I woke up excitedly and hurried to get to the kitchen. I stood at the kitchen sink and closed my eyes and prayed to God. It was a very simple prayer, which asked for help in the cooking, for everything to turn out right and for the ability to cope with the inevitable tears. I did not realize that while I was chopping the onions God was supernaturally intervening for me. I kept thinking one more onion, another onion, now the next, until I finally came to the last one. I burst out in laughter realizing that there was no pain, no vapor, no rubbing of the eyes, NOTHING!!! I kept thinking ‘I don’t believe it’!’ but of course I did. I was so full of joy and marveled at how this could happen. God heard my simple prayers, even a quick prayer that I did not kneel down for. I could not contain myself!
God is utterly amazing and to think we have the rest of our lives to establish and promote a deeply rich, close relationship with Him; one of many tears, much laughter, joy, sorrow, hurt, pain, anguish, and always love. I could not relate to God the Father only a few years ago, because of the lack of a good physical father/daughter relationship. However, now I can laugh with God. He has such a great sense of humor. Developing this relationship is intensely beautiful and like nothing else. Now I am learning what pure agape love is and how to love others too including my physical and spiritual family. I love how God is not a respecter of persons, as the Apostle Peter states in Acts 10:34. We can always trust and believe that God will attend to each one of us perfectly! He simply cannot make a mistake.
Here are some of the lessons I have come to learn as the layers are peeled back to reveal just what is truly in my heart of hearts on this incredible journey that will transcend a lifetime:
1. Know Yourself
So we can correct things which need to be corrected, and we all have those things that need correction. No one is exempt. People pleasing is good only to the degree that it does not interfere with one’s own spiritual and physical health. Certainly there will be no people pleasers in the Kingdom. (Galatians 1:10) Spiritually we must please God always. Mary was all eyes and ears on our Lord. She was probably not even aware of all the food serving because of what Jesus Christ’s message contained. Mary was not distracted whereas Martha was consumed with anxiety, worry and stress (Matthew 6:25-34). The physical must not take precedence over the spiritual.
2. Plan to Put God First
Plan and then plan a backup plan. Refine your plans. In the future, I plan to cook the same recipes but well ahead of time and freeze some dishes, so I do not put myself under so much pressure again. We too need to align ourselves with the Master Planner of the Universe. God has plans for everyone (Jeremiah 29:11). Let’s take a few moments at the beginning of our day, or if you are a night owl then in the evenings and plan to put God first. Then list all the things that we need to achieve the following day. Maybe add a shorter list of items that we want to achieve. You will be amazed how productive you can be if you put God first in your day.
3. Forget About Pride
I not only wanted my relatives to be amazed at my cooking skills but I was seeking their approval. I wanted to make up for all the time lost, by spoiling them. I did not need to go over the top with all the serving, but I wanted to. I had not seen my family for so long. My pride wanted to be stroked with nice comments based on the time, work, and effort I had put into the meal. I wanted recognition! (Proverbs 16:18) I am such a competitive person in many things I do. I did not realize this before God called me. I grew up this way as that is how the girls in our family could get noticed. I was sick and tired of being invisible. Remember we are never invisible to God. He sees everything we do. He even knows how many hairs are on our heads! That is how intimately He knows us. Once again Father causes me to smile over the specificity of this. (Matthew 10:30; Luke 12:7)
4. Give Yourself a Reality Check
Do not allow day to day things to take over from the most important part of your spiritual journey. Aim to achieve a balance, but always put God first. (Matthew 6:33) It can be difficult to figure out exactly what that balance is. It is even harder to be objective about it, because we will tend to justify and want things that are not good for us. (Jeremiah 17:9) Wisely weigh your decisions.
5. Examine the Why of What We Do
God is certainly interested in the why, because He searches the depths of our hearts right to the inner core. (Psalms 44:21) Thankfully, our just and loving Father does search our hearts to know what motivates our actions. Sometimes our actions look pure, such as serving others, but not always. Check your real motivations in order to ascertain what is driving you. Conversely our actions may not look pure to others on the surface, but God knows exactly where we are coming from. We can take great comfort in that.
6. Faith Without Sight
While God does not reveal His form to us now, He certainly reveals Himself in so many ways. Since I had worked with these onions that night and they made me cry, I was amazed that they did not the next day. It was like God was telling me, “I know how much you love your physical family and how much you miss them, and I know you will not compromise with any pagan festival in order to keep them in your life, so here is a very small taste of things to come because that is how much I love you and all My children.” God will give us so much more if we will just trust Him. In Matthew 19:29, Mark 10:29-30 and Luke 18:29 we are told what we will receive if we give anything up in this lifetime. If we are loyal, obedient and faithful, God is pleased. How good is it to know that we can please our Creator?
Allow God to peel back your layers with you. You will get to know yourself and be able to deal with whatever is hiding deep within the core of your heart. It is not easy and it can be very painful, but it is worth it. Matthew 19:26 tells us all things are possible with Him.