Hope is Like Steamed Crabs – Beverage Required
Anytime steamed crabs are served, there are no options. You need a beverage.
No matter if you’re sitting down for a couple of hours with family and friends at a crab feast, or just pulling a couple out of the refrigerator for a late-night snack, you’ll need something to drink. The idea of eating steamed crabs without a beverage is just not imaginable.
The spices used are a unique blend that can include paprika, black pepper, white pepper, red pepper, crushed red pepper flakes. Yes, it is hot. But not take the top of your head off hot. It has a flavor all its own. There are many varieties, with different tastes. Some hotter, some saltier, some highlight spices other than pepper.
Some people eat their steamed crabs “as is” with all the cooked-on spicy goodness. Others wipe the spices off their steamed crabs (and that’s OK). And then is a minority who actually put their crabs under running water to wash the spices off. Time does not allow me to express myself adequately about just how WRONG this is!
So, with all this spicy goodness, a beverage is definitely required. The most popular beverage for adults, by a long shot, is beer. Some people just want it cold and wet while others have very strong opinions about which beer goes best with steamed crabs. I’m going to plead neutrality on this most important and emotional of personal preferences.
For the kids or those who prefer a non-alcoholic drink, it’s any soda. Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, you name it. Some people offer lemonade or Kool-Aid. But milk is never, never, never allowed.
Like the beverage that accompanies steamed crabs, hope also requires something that accompanies it. Something to go with hope, something to make it even better than hope alone.
And that beverage that makes hope better is faith. Faith is not some wild, off-the-wall feeling or leap of faith. No, real faith comes along with real hope. Real faith is the rock-solid evidence that life is not a random accident. Real faith is not jumping off a bridge, but the sure foundation that you can build your life on.
What’s your rock-solid faith that you depend on each and every day?