Baking Soda, Baby!

13.5-pounds of usefulness!

Do you think Arm & Hammer regrets the name of this popular product?

They should.

From a marketing standpoint, Baking Soda is a horrendous name.

So limiting. So... bland. So yuk!

I was staring at the 13.5-pound bag from my Sam’s Club delivery the other day (Don’t judge, I use it for everything), and the bold claim on the front of the bag caught my eye: 100 + Uses.

One hundred-plus uses?

For baking soda?

Of course, my mind was off to the races.

Did they know, back in 1846, when they gave it that name, what they were holding?

Did they think it would just sit in the pantry waiting for cookies?

Or did they have any clue it could deodorize shoes, freshen laundry, clean grout, unclog drains, soothe sunburns, and still be safe enough to brush your teeth with?

And here I am, 179 years after its invention, pondering baking soda.

Why?

Because, as usual, my thoughts come back to us.

To you. To me. To all of us.

How often do we ask ourselves questions like:

What’s my purpose?

What’s my gift?

What am I supposed to do with my life?

We look for ONE big thing, some perfect-fit role we’re supposed to fill.

And when we don’t find it, we feel like failures.

We feel lost, aimless, and unimportant.

I’ve been there.

It’s a quiet ache that hums in the background like a generator during a power outage: 

Maybe I don’t matter.

But here's the truth I didn’t see clearly until this week’s grocery delivery.

We’re baking soda, baby!

And I laughed when I realized it.

We may (sometimes) feel like we’re an “average product,” but we’re useful in a hundred-plus ways!

To different people, in different seasons, and for different needs.

If I asked my ten favorite people what I bring to their lives, I bet every answer would be different.

One might say I give good advice.

Another loves our brunch chats.

One might appreciate how I show up in a crisis.

Someone else might say I make them laugh.

And if I asked my ten least favorite people, well… their answers would all be different.

And that’s okay, too.

Because we’re not meant for one narrow purpose.

We are not just “baking soda” in the cookie recipe of life.

We are the secret ingredient in the drain cleaner, the DIY toothpaste, and the volcano experiment at the fifth-grade science fair.

We are multipurpose. Multi-gifted. And very much needed.

You might feel unseen or unsure of your value, but I know that you are doing more than you realize.

With every encouraging word, every quiet act of care, every moment you show up in someone else’s mess, you’re fulfilling your purpose. 

Your Divine purpose.

God didn’t make any of us for a single job description.

He made us for connection, for joy, for service, for creativity, and especially, for love.

So, the next time doubt creeps in and whispers that you’re not enough, too late, or too ordinary, just remember:

You’re baking soda, baby!

And so am I.

That’s not a limitation: That’s a legacy.