Do you suffer from FOMO?

No, it isn’t some dreaded disease.

Rather, FOMO stands for “Fear Of Missing Out.”

It’s a natural human tendency to worry that we might be losing out on something that others are enjoying or acquiring.

This trepidation can sometimes filter into our spiritual lives, as well.

We might be afraid that if we do things God’s way, we’ll somehow miss out on something.

Perhaps we won’t get to do the things we really want in life, or we’ll have to give up some things we’re already doing. We fear we’ll miss out on all the fun.

We fear God might withhold something crucial from our lives, and our “cake” won’t rise without it: our life will feel diminished.

But we needn’t worry. God only withholds things for our good, and He won’t deprive us of things we truly need.

Our cake will still rise as believers, but on God’s terms.

Bakers know that to get a cake to rise, you usually need to employ a leavener of some sort, such as yeast or baking powder.

But you can actually make a cake rise without a leavening agent. The rising can come about through another source, such as the air bubbles in beaten egg whites (scroll down for a recipe for Greek Walnut Cake made without leaveners).

It’s interesting that in the Bible, leaven or yeast sometimes symbolized sin.

We often have a tendency to believe that if we cut sin out of our life, we might not enjoy ourselves as much. We fear our lives might feel deflated and devoid of fun.

But when you obey God and remove sin from your life, He’ll provide you with blessings and enjoyment through other sources. The Holy Spirit living within you will give you “lift,” enabling you to soar to new heights of joy.

So don’t worry.

If you do things God’s way, you’ll still have fun. You’ll enjoy all the wonderful things that God has for you in life.

Rest assured, your cake will still rise!

Greek Walnut Cake

I first tasted a walnut cake like this on a tour of St. George Coptic Orthodox Church on Bond Street in Toronto. Every inch of the church’s domed octagonal sanctuary was painted in vividly coloured frescoes by monks from the Greek Islands. This recipe, from a book by “Gourmet Magazine,” makes a cake very similar to the one I enjoyed at St. George’s.

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon
4 eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 350º F. Set aside an 8-inch non-stick baking pan.

Grind 1 1/2 cups walnuts in food processor. Put ground nuts in a separate bowl and mix in flour, salt and cinnamon.

In the food processor, blend butter, sugar and zest until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. Stir egg mixture into bowl of nut mixture and blend well. Pour batter into baking pan and sprinkle top with remaining 1/2 cup walnuts.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden and tester comes out clean.

While baking, make syrup. Boil water, sugar, lemon juice and honey in 1 quart saucepan, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and mixture thickens a bit. After cake is removed from oven, poke holes in cake with toothpick and pour warm syrup over hot cake.

© 2022 Lori J. Cartmell. All rights reserved.