I know I know… what a weird topic to blog about. Pancakes. Trust me, it gets even weirder from here. Why on earth was I thinking about pancakes? Here’s the story. It all started a few weeks ago when I was out grocery shopping. I started perusing the PC Insiders Holiday Report (no endorsements given here, I just happen to like their products… but if Galen Weston wants to hook me up… I’m here for it!). This is one of the current ads for their latest meal kit for the holidays:

So if you read the description… it clearly states the meal includes a “pancake”. And I mused: “A pancake?” This is not the fluffy, cake-like circle upon which I eat with syrup, chocolate chips and/or berries. Certainly, Peking duck does not a pancake make. And why is this a holiday thing? Green onion and red peppers? Apparently, I am very wrong. “Pancakes” are very diverse among a very vast and wide group of people. A little digging has opened me up to a whole new world of what constitutes a “pancake”. IHOP notwithstanding. (This Canadian girl learned that the American restaurant chain “IHOP” stands for International House of Pancakes… who knew?)

Some are thin and light… à la “crêpes”, and some are thicker like flatbreads or blinis. Dutch babies, bannock, Jonnie cake, flapjacks, toutons, crumpets, and my favourite-sounding name: crempogs (Welsh). And yes… China has a pancake version filled with savoury treats like Peking duck. I humbly apologize for my lack of foodie-ness. What did I know? Served at anytime or season. Holidays or lazy Sunday mornings.

And there are other pancake definitions as well! My sporty children tell me there is a move in volleyball called the pancake. The techies talk about the pancake bot… some kind of 3D printer thing… but does it make pancakes? I do not understand. And of course the adjective usage: flat as a pancake. You’ve got to love English. It lacks so much in descriptive ability. Flat cake made in a pan = pancake. My mind has so many questions.

So, my beloveds. How will I transition from all this talk of breakfast food to my “inspirational twist”? Diversity. I am fascinated that the Bible’s words can continue to be fresh and new each time you read them. Verses come alive every single time. Maybe diversity is not the right word. I want to say that scriptures can have different meanings depending on your perspective … like the thought of a “pancake” is different depending on where you live… but maybe that is not theologically sound. God’s Word doesn’t change. Yet, the mystery of it … is that it does. Do you see it? Have you felt this? Tell me you get it and that it is not just me! Verses you have heard time and time again suddenly leap off the page and “melt in your mouth” like a savoury pancake instead of syrupy sweet. A single phrase speaks to you in a way that it never has before. Just perfect for this moment in your life. This is the joy of reading ancient words inspired by God Himself.

Alive, diversified by the writer’s perspective, yet completely homogenous at the same time. Nowadays we have the added bonus of different versions of the Bible and concordances to enhance our studies even further. Like a kitchen full of ingredients ready to be added to make your perfect pancake. Yum! Taste and see that it is good.