One with the Mayo

by Katy Kauffman

Imagine you can’t have garlic, onion, or pepper. There goes most Italian food. (I wonder if you like Italian food as much as I do.) And you can’t have gluten, dairy, or table sugar. (What’s left to eat, right?) I love my desserts. And fettuccini alfredo.  

In 2020, sudden symptoms in my GI tract started a three-year journey to find out what was wrong with me. They revealed a few chronic conditions, including IBS and functional dyspepsia (excess tummy acid without the ulcers). My schedule needed to slow down, my diet had to change, and my weight took a nosedive.

What can you eat when your systems seem to be intolerant of most food? How can you eat enough calories when your tummy will only hold a cup of food at a time? How can you enjoy taste again when you need to eat what’s bland?

Enter the mayo. In the fourth year of my condition, I explored the internet for gluten-free, dairy-free recipes, which became an expensive trip up and down grocery store aisles. But the expense was worth it when I discovered chickpea flour tortillas and vegan mayo. Vegan. Is it still mayo if it’s vegan?

My wholehearted answer is yes! I took a chance and bought Follow Your Heart’s vegan mayonnaise, smeared it on a tortilla, and added meatballs, vegan mozzarella, and crushed sea salt. Thirty seconds in the microwave, and it happened—taste! The cheese melted and became one with the mayo. Hope, joy. When you need to eat ten times a day, a blip of mayo opens up a world of possibilities.

Just as the best recipes have indispensable ingredients, God knows which “ingredients” we need for life to “taste” better. He gives us love, wisdom, purpose, and grace. Sustaining grace.

How much grace do you need today—a blip or a smothering? Jesus promised the apostle Paul that His grace would be sufficient for his struggles. Let’s step into that conversation recorded in Scripture.

Concerning this [thorn in the flesh] I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:8-9 NKJV)

The grace of Jesus meets us in our need, whatever the need is and however long it lasts. Jesus knows how much grace to give us every day, and He’s not stingy.

Why is grace the perfect “ingredient” to give our lives some pep? Grace is not just God’s favor for salvation, but it’s God’s help for everyday life. It comes to us in the form of strength, perseverance, perspective, and courage. It comes as guidance and the desire and ability to do God’s will.

Grace enables us to take one more step, say one more encouraging word, and serve God one more day. Grace is an inexhaustible storehouse of all we need to do the assignments God gives us.¹ Grace adds flavor and gumption to life.

Let me just say that grace is a whole lot better than mayo. So whether you need a blip or a smothering, go to Jesus for the grace that you need. His grace meets us in the hard and shows us we’re not alone in the journey. He’ll help us to keep moving forward and do today with hope and joy.

How has God’s grace helped you in your struggles? What bit of “mayo” do you need today to help life have a better taste? Leave a comment, and may you always find what you need in God and His grace.

1. Teacher’s Commentary, quoted in Phil Lindner, Power Bible CD, CD-ROM (Bronson, Mich.: Online Publishing, Inc., 2007),  John 1:16.

Today’s post is the first in a new category called “God’s Sustaining Grace.” How does God’s grace meet us in our challenges, whether we face them in our health, emotions, thoughts, relationships, work, or life goals? Shared every 4^th Monday of the month, may these posts encourage you to depend on God for His grace and to use it to have victory and to make a difference for His kingdom.