On Watch

Aarti Sequeira is my favorite on The Next Food Network Star. I love her smile. I love her voice. I love her passion for her family, specifically her mom's influence in the kitchen. One thing from the beginning that I noticed was during show's filming of each star's down time, you'd see Aarti quietly reading her Bible. She has never once been vocal about her Christianity but you can tell from her demeanor that she lives out her faith.

She suffers from a lack of confidence at times in a show that is filled with great demands for bold star power and tells in her blog of one of her competitors bringing her to task about it:

"That night, I lay on the couch in the living room, wrapped in a blanket as the guys played poker. I must have had a forlorn look on my face because as Brad walked into the living room, he said, “You. Outside. Now.” He proceeded to give me a pep talk worthy of any good 80′s movie. I’m not undercutting it. It was great. “You’re the only one here who has it all going on: personality, cooking chops and strong POV. You have a powerful smile. And if you don’t get your s*** together now, I’m nipping at your heels, and I’m going to take you out,” he said with that cocky, but sweet smile that only Brad could give you. I will never forget that pep talk. Brad really is as adorable as he seems."

But, the next paragraph is what touched me:

"On an aside, Brad and I started talking about God, whether He existed, and if so, what the heck He wanted out of us, and just as Brad said something about seeing God’s hand in nature, a gorgeous coyote padded silently by us. We went silent too, hoping the coyote wouldn’t notice us. Just then, he turned his head, and looked directly at Brad for a second. Then he turned back to his path, and padded on. We both let out our breath, not realizing we’d been holding it that whole time. Coincidence? You decide."

That's a quiet gentle soul for you! It's hard for me to recognize God at work sometimes. Had I been sitting there with Aarti & Brad, would I have understood? I get so caught up in the moment and all the hubbub that His voice oft times goes unnoticed...unappreciated. I need to start watching for the beauty of His work.

When I consider Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which You have set in place,
what is man that You are mindful of him,
the son of man that You care for him?
Psalm 8:3-4