Lesson #6

There is Joy in the Small Things. 

One of the things my mom and I love to do together is cook. I think that I developed my fascination with cooking from my mom. I remember being so happy when I would get home and the house would be filled with fragrant aromas of spaghetti or chocolate cake, my grandmothers recipe. We didn't have much money growing up and often my mom would use whatever she could find to create a flavorful masterpiece for our family. After I had a family of my own I thought often about what my mom would put together to serve to us. These specialties were comprised of the things that we had. Sometimes all we had was top Ramen and mixed vegetables. To this day our daughters love Top Ramen and I know it's because of what I learned from my mom;

Use what you have and serve it with love.

Now that my mom has dementia cooking can be difficult. She doesn't always remember that it's unsafe to taste things like chicken unless they're cooked, and directions must be given one step at a time. Nevertheless this last Saturday we decided that we would cook together for a few hours. I set things out and had a plan in my mind before mom arrived. We were going to cook some chicken recipes and Brats. We would see how far we would get.  A little before 10 AM mom showed up with her walker and seemed tired. I was nervous, could this really happen?

And then God gave us a brilliant idea! Her walker had a seat on it and if we pushed it up to the counter placing a cutting board on the counter it was the perfect height and place for mom. One item at a time, she worked through cutting or stirring, mixing or adding and she felt needed.

There was a moment when I had to look away because my eyes filled with tears realizing we had little moments of joy. The small things that she could accomplish brought her such satisfaction, as they did me.

At the end of our three hours of cooking we enjoyed the fruits of our labor!  We made banana muffins, zucchini muffins, mustard mushroom chicken, brats and peppers, and chicken tortilla casserole. I would say not a bad three hours work!

Forever we will have that time together and I'm so pleased to know I can still cook with my mom. It's a lesson I've learned in making small moments into big moments.

It reminded me of how God does that with us. When we take the time to look, we see his hand everywhere. Small moments are big moments when we realize they been given to us by the creator of the universe.

Today as you go through your life don't miss the small things.

the smile

the verse

the flower

the bird

the hug

the memory

God's goodness is all-around take some time to thank him fo