Risotto

Two nights ago I was in the mood for a good meal and conversation.  Everyone seemed booked so I headed to a favorite New York Italian restaurant where I knew I would experience fantastic service, great food, and most likely fun conversations about real football (American soccer).  The two owners as the staff support a team, usually Italian, and hold a great love for the game.
 
The conversations got off to a great start, especially with the club championships coming to an end and the world cup clearly on the horizon.  As we mixed the conversations about the neighborhood, football, and food, I found myself ordering a great salad risotto combination.
 
The meal was fantastic.  The friendship and banter was just what I came for.  Alex, one of the owners, was rightly proud of what they offered.  To him the quality and service was the best.  It was, and is, very good.
 
Far too often things that are good and powerful can seem overwhelming in their own right.  The idea that something could be even more powerful, beautiful, and awe inspiring can be hard to believe.  It seems impossible when you are standing in front of an incredible painting, an extraordinary bowl of risotto, or in the midst of a great conversation that anything could be even greater.  I’m not the first to think this way.  One writer of yesterday wrote it this way; “Oh my!  Thunder!  A thundering herd of people!  Thunder like the crashing of ocean waves!  Nations roaring, roaring, like the roar of a massive waterfall, roaring like a deafening Niagara!  But God will silence them with a word, and then he'll blow them away like dead leaves off a tree, like down from a thistle.”  (Isaiah 17.12, 13) 
 
For me the awareness came with the risotto.  Several years ago a friend introduced me to Anton.  Anton makes a risotto disk which takes one to a place one never imagined possible.  Someday I’d like to introduce you to this experience.  Beauty, awe, and wonder are guaranteed.  Anton is a lot like my God.