Red Hot Chili Peppers

It was one of those family home evening lessons desperately thrown together at the extreme last second. (Most of my FHE lessons are like that.) I actually had the idea ten minutes before 6pm last night while racing through Rancho Market's produce section, grabbing ingredients for my other "desperately thrown together" dinner--fajitas. I saw the cute little tiny orange habenero peppers and thought, "How perfect!" I bought one.  It was all I needed.

No, I didn't put the habenero into the fajitas. My plan was to use it for an object lesson about James3:6, "The tongue is a fire..."  (You can see where I'm going with this.)

We read the scripture and watched two videos that had to do with fire: One where the fire was terribly destructive and out of control and the other, a nice cozy hearth with warm glowing flames safely in a fireplace. We asked the kids to tell us why James would describe the tongue as a fire and they all gave some great answers.

Then came the best part... I pulled the habenero out of a bag and challenged the kids to eat pieces of it. (Now, I can handle pretty spicy stuff but even I didn't realize how hot this little guy was going to be.)  Kaylee thought it was one of those mini bell peppers that are often served with veggie trays and wanted to eat the entire thing. I still only gave her a small piece and she quickly ate it. A split-second later, all of the kids were in the kitchen screaming and downing gallons of water... (um... something that should never be done after eating a pepper that hot).

The screaming grew louder and more panicked as the kids couldn't figure out how to stop the burning. Kaylee was completely hysterical and could hardly stand on two feet as she withered and writhed dramatically on the floor in agony, cursing me for what I had done.  I seriously didn't think it would be so bad.

I began passing out coconut oil for the outsides of their faces and bowls of ice cream to sooth their tongues. They all got double servings of ice cream, which I felt was a plus.  The bonus dessert didn't matter in their eyes. No amount of refreshments would stop them from feeling betrayed.

To make matters worse, I couldn't stop laughing.  And when they had all finally settled down, I remarked, "At least one thing is for certain.  You'll never forget this FHE lesson!" They all smiled with agreement.

This little experience only reaffirms in my mind that some of the best things in life are unplanned, desperately thrown together, and completely last minute.

-Alicia
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