Tip of My Iceberg

My family sometimes enjoys leftovers.

Not all leftovers. Dessert leftovers are big. Any meat not eaten during the meal is appreciated. Not so much any vegetables or dishes with more than one ingredient.

Turkey, however, is one of those meats that can become a variety of fun dishes the second time around. Not leftovers, but a chance for creative cooking.

So I did what anyone in their right mind would do if they’re planning a Thanksgiving feast with turkey remains.

I bought a 31-pound turkey.

I’ve been purchasing turkeys for several years. This is the biggest one I’ve ever gotten. Hauling it to the cashier was a challenge. The young man who was bagging took one look at the bird and said, “You know, any bird that size must make you question what they fed it.”

The cashier and I were both stunned. I laughed. It seemed an appropriate response.

Big things aren’t always what they seem to be.

David understood that. He was the youngest of eight sons. The older seven fought with King Saul against the Philistine army. The issue was that the Philistines had a giant of a guy fighting for them, Goliath, who was about nine feet, nine inches tall. He taunted the Israelite army, telling them to send someone worthy of fighting him, and the two of them could settle the issue between the two armies.

The only problem was every time the giant came forward, the army of Israel fell back in fear.

When David offered his services to Saul to fight the giant, he was seen as an incompetent youth. When Goliath saw David, he despised him, calling him a dog, a huge insult.

“David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.’” 1 Samuel 17:45-46.

David had gathered several smooth stones. He was an accurate sling shooter, having killed both lion and bear with his sling. He fitted a stone into the sling, flung it at the giant, where it sank into his forehead, and he fell, dead. David ran up and cut his head off with Goliath’s own sword.

Size and experience didn’t matter to David. He knew he fought on the side of the Lord, knowing that the giants in his life weren’t cause for fear; they were a cause to trust God with the big things. The unimaginable things he couldn’t picture defeating on his own.

With God, all things are possible.

Our turkey may be huge, having been puffed up with whatever makes turkeys hefty. I really don’t want to know what that might be.

But it’s not so hefty that I can’t cook it and make it a delectable feast for my family.

The challenge will be finding a roasting pan in which to cook it.