The coffee is a perfect mix of Tim Horton's decaf and Green Mountain blueberry and the swirl of cream and touch of raw sugar make me feel like a barista.
A really old, bad hair-day-Mom-clothes- kind of barista.
My fifth asks me while I take the first sips as a reward for actually making stuffed cabbage and getting it into the Instant pot before noon,
"Mom? Did you used to dread cooking for other people when you first got married?"
Without blinking I nod as warm sips glide down.
Child number six never wanting Mom to look or feel badly for one ounce of her existence (bless her) pipes in,
"But you're SO good at it!"
And I answer in a very "Elementary my dear Watson," style by adding,
"Necessity my dear."
Not wanting them to dread cooking for their own twenty kids in a few years I added that the enjoyment of seeing people enjoy what you have made is worth all the work.
I then laughed and explained that off all things kitchen related it really boils down (see what I just did there!) to loving to feed their Dad.
Be it half my brownie, a hot cup of tea, fluffy mashed potatoes or a warmed grapefruit under the broiler with a pinch of brown sugar on top after deacon's meeting, I just love to feed this guy food.
I love to feed anyone food, come to think of it.
While out on teen soul-winning yesterday my husband found me scribbling addresses on a piece of scrap paper when we got back to the van.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm writing down addresses we could take baked goods to."
And he didn't even flinch.
Baked goods to strangers? Why not?
Hey, my Mother-in-law won her cranky neighbor to the Lord with a pie so don't underestimate the power of beautiful, refined sugar.
My fifth walks with me with our dog pulling us way beyond "leisurely stroll" and we watch the leaves fall like confetti overhead.
We stop once or twice and try to catch them one-handed.
We stop and just look up to see a myriad of yellows against the bluest sky and this Indian Summer or whatever it is just makes this breeze give you that, "It cannot get any better than this," feeling.
Everyday grace.
I tell her that this is what I think of when the Lord tells us that he has given us, "..richly all things to enjoy." (1 Timothy 6:17)
This.. AND food.
Coming out of another long spell of sickness, the leaves crunching under our feet, this first walk in WEEKS for me,
It just feels like a huge hug of grace.
Never skimped on, never just enough, but always spilling over in our hearts.
Have you had that with the Lord lately?
My oldest daughter got a stack of cards to give away that said, "I think the world of you," big and bold on the front.
I half-teased but really three-quarters meant it when I told her to save one for her mother and remind me that I have encouraged her in some way.
And as she hopped on a very early flight to Texas Tuesday morning, there it was on the kitchen table.
She opened with, "I didn't forget!"
And it gave me the pep-in-my-step to dive into Adverb clauses once again.
Everyday grace.
A dear, dear woman at church snuck a Dunkin' gift card to me.
My husband made the mashed potatoes so I could enjoy the last of the afternoon lovely.
A Marco Polo checking in on me and telling me that they are praying for me.
Once-dropped cupcakes given shyly but enjoyed immensely.
The Spirit reminding me kindly that I really don't need to check social media again this morning.
Kids doing their absolute best to ace a quiz.
Grace upon grace.
Never just enough, but almost too much to swallow when you sit and write them down.
With all that's going on in the world around us, couldn't it, wouldn't it be good to take some time to see- I mean REALLY see- all of the grace for the taking around us?
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