Victoria Sponge and Gethsemane

Put a lady called Victoria Sponge into a mixing bowl, add in the story of Jesus in his last week of life and what have you got? A story that combines everyday life with Hope. 

Have you ever had a Gethsemane experience? Victoria Sponge did, but like so many of us we do not know that we have. 

Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives, a place Jesus frequently went to pray. There he became sorrowful and troubled (Matthew 26:37), he prayed as a human, asking his Father to take away the impending events that awaited him (Mark 14:36) as the Son of God. However He knew that he must obey his Father and bowed down to God's will (Luke 22:42). 

How saddened Jesus must have been to see his disciples sleeping when he had asked them to watch and pray, albeit at a distance, with Jesus. Twice Jesus had to wake them, the third time he left them sleeping. How broken His heart must have been, seeing his friends sleep as He sweated blood (Luke 22:44). 

At night Victoria Sponge always asks God to reveal to her the question that she has said 'Yes' to in her early morning prayer. 

Extract from: "How to make Victoria Sponge"

"Oh Lord, reveal to me your question that I answered so long ago this morning. What did I say 'yes' to today and did I succeed in my answer to your question?"

And God answers:

"Vicki, I asked you to be with me in the garden of Gethsemane, to stay awake and be of comfort to me in my time of anguish, and you were. You were not found asleep or failing in your response. Thank you for joining me in my victory today for being open to my call."

Victoria is surprised by God's response and asks:

"When was I at Gethsemane Lord?"

God then goes on to outline the moments in her day when she supported a friend and listened to her son's anguish. These all echoed Jesus' own experience in Gethsemane. However, Victoria had been awake to the needs of others unlike the disciples, she had not been asleep to their tears. 

The book "How to make Victoria Sponge" is an example of how the New Testament is relevant today in our lives. 

I hope this small insight will encourage you to enter into the life of the Sponge family.

Many blessings

Margaret Kazmierczak (author)

To read more about Victoria Sponge and her journey with God please take a look at the website below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Make-Victoria-Sponge-Incorporating-Jewel/dp/1906631425