Breakfast at the Kale house depends on what day of the week it happens to be. Cereal is for Mondays and Thursdays. Eggo’s on Tuesday. Wednesday’s are eggs. Friday is open and Saturday is pancake day! I’m not much of a breakfast eater, but Sandra sticks to this schedule with old dog faithfulness. Our 21 years of marriage has endured this routine without much attention. I drink my coffee and make pancakes once a week; she handles the weekday consistency. It’s the same thing each week. Nothing varies. Nothing changes.
This week something magical happened. On Wednesday, she was cracking some of eggs given to us by friends. They have eight chickens who each lay an egg per day. That’s a little more than the two of them can consume, so they have started sharing. We love the brighter yellow yolks and the idea that they are natural. Anyway, the egg that Sandra cracked was a little larger than normal. As Sandra dropped its contents into the stainless steel bowl, she saw the most amazing thing! It had two yolks! She called me over and I took a few pictures. As a twin, I loved it. I had never seen a double yolked egg before, but loved the idea.
I’ve had a week to think about this double yolker and would love to share what it has taught me over the last few days.
1- You can’t judge an egg by it’s shell: Sure, this is a variation of the famous “You can’t judge a book by it’s cover” cliche. Cliches become cliches because they are true and consistent; just like breakfast at the Kale house. The appearance of a boiled, raw, or rotten egg are the same, but the insides are completely different. You can dress up an Easter egg, but the inside is still the same. Your life may look normal, but inside you might be as unique as that double yolked egg. The treasure of ideas you keep in your heart and mind could change the world. What’s inside of you that could make the world a better place?
2- There’s always room for one more: I’m imagining that it’s pretty tight inside the shell of a chicken egg. Life gets cramped, too. We often feel like there is no more room for anything in our lives. Our calendars are full. We are neck deep in our jobs. We are treading water financially. How could there possibly be room for one more? While there may not be any room for more stuff in our lives, there is always room for another relationship. The Christian relationship with Jesus is often described as opening up our hearts to let Him live there, too. Revelation 3:20 says “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” There’s always room for Jesus and new friends in our lives.
3- Sometimes we have to be broken to be appreciated: Shells were meant to be cracked. “You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet”, the story goes. Humpty Dumpty was a nobody until he fell off his great wall. It’s in our breaking that the world finds out who we really are. Our character gets revealed when life destroys our the shell of insulation and exposes our vulnerabilities. It’s when we are our weakest that our true selves are made known. How are you handling that divorce, diagnosis, addiction, accusation, depression, or bankruptcy?
It’s easy to get into a rut, doing the same things over and over. It’s easy to follow the routine and quit paying attention to the nuances. With all our responsibilities and appointments it’s a wonder we ever pick out heads up to look around at the enchanted world around us. This week, I invite you to look for some double yolked eggs in your life. Search for those mundane moments that just might be super spiritual. Explore your own backyard. Look for something new in the middle of something old. That consistency may not be all it’s cracked up to be! Keep looking. Keep living. Keep loving.
Love one. Love another.
*This article is also published in the Gulf Breeze News 11-3-2016 edition