4:18 p.m. Today's project was to get up by 8:30 and put my soaked bean mix into the huge pressure canner pot and get my soup started, adding pork ribs, bay leaves, salt and plenty of water. Since we came in after midnight from a hilarious party with friends, and I was up for a while after that, it would have been the better part of wisdom to go back to bed like Steve did after he put the dogs out. But of course that didn't happen.
I was eager to get this new year's devotions going and post Psalm 36, in which verse 5 says, "Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds." Whereas yesterday I journalled in gold ink to the Lord thanking Him for the multiple blessings of 2009, 2010's first entry returned to the daily mix of praise, confession, petition and thanksgiving, in vibrant shades of blue.
After I got Steve up, my attention turned to the French toast and bacon breakfast I'd planned for us. After making up my dipping batter, it was back to the soup. Time to add 2 chopped onions, a quart of tomatoes, 8 stalks of chopped celery, 3 cloves of garlic and cayenne pepper. I also tossed in the contents of the seasoning packet from the "Ham Beans" bag. Finally breakfast was served, and I relaxed on the couch in front of the Rose Parade's 4th replay, put on my makeup, and thought about napping--it would be 3 hours before time to add the final ingredients to the soup.
Ding dong! Who could be at the door? Of course it was my dad, with all the freshness of a person who had set their alarm for 7 o'clock, and then turned over to go back to sleep. Good thing somebody is getting their zzzzz's!
A nice visit ensued with Steve, my dad and Heidi, relaxing and watching the Rose parade and then the game. We had no dog in this fight--two out-of-state teams were playing. But it was a good, back-and-forth, competitive game. I added the chicken thighs and sliced turkey dinner sausage, along with seasoned salt, fresh ground pepper and garlic powder. The overcast sky cooled things down, a better atmosphere for hot soup. I updated Daddy on Steve's condition while Steve was out walking the dogs, and we agreed that we're seeing some improvement. Praise the Lord!
Then the text messages began coming in. Nick and Heather were coming by, and then we heard from Kriss and Marisela! Now our quiet dinner was turning into a dinner party, my favorite kind of event to plan for and carry out. It didn't take long to set the dining room table, make up a spinach and orange salad with fried onions on top, and get the cornbread batter out of the fridge.
By 3:30, the soup was done and my dad was fearing rain, so I packed him up a nice container of soup and he was on his way back to Redlands. (He makes his own cornbread, so the soup was all he needed). Nick and Heather were due about 5:00; and Kriss and his wife wouldn't be leaving Long Beach until 4:30. It took some shuffling, but we served salad to our early birds, then I baked the cornbread and served all of us with Heidi's help by 6:15. A meal is so much tastier when shared! As always, dinner conversation began with prayer and went on in great fun as we all recounted our New Year's Eve adventures. Steven texted a lovely picture of snow at Shaver Lake near Fresno, where he's staying at a friend's cabin. Naturally, a forward to our camping buddies was in order!
A great joy that you can't hurry is that parents are rewarded for our pains with lifelong friends and companions in our grown children and their spouses. I didn't even know what Psalm 127:3b, "The fruit of the womb is a reward," fully meant when my children were growing up, other than that I enjoyed them thoroughly, especially leading them to Christ, training and educating them. Now I see it. Much as I adore my family in Christ, no one can light up my heart by coming in the front door like my kids! I would guess my dad feels the same about Steve, my sister Dona and me, not to mention all of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
One more large pot to clean, and all of the holiday entertaining that began with Thanksgiving will come to an end. It's been possibly the best Christmas season of the 58 I've had the privilege to enjoy. All of our kids made a special effort, without saying anything, but I feel it. Steve and I face a difficult future, but this season has given us confidence that we are not going to be alone.
God won't allow it--He is faithful to keep the promises that fill His Word.
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