Sunday, May 6, 2012

Pioneer ladies and waddling babies

Sometimes I forget about patience.  Sometimes I think patience is staying calm when you have to wait in line at the Starbucks drive-thru.  I find that patience can be a little harder to come by here in the Northeast.  It is difficult to order a piece of pizza in N.Y. or a cheese steak in Philly without getting yelled at for taking up so much time....especially for an in-decisive, southern girl like myself that has the AUDACITY to ask if they have whole wheat bread ;-)
It seems easy to forget about patience in our super-speedy western culture.  A wise woman was teaching me about patience and trust the other day.  My sweet "second Mama" back in Georgia, Rosalind.  Ros, as we call her, has been through so much in her life, yet remains to be one of the most trusting and loving people (who makes the best chocolate chip cookies IN THE WORLD).  She has truly learned to love God beyond life's circumstances.  Trusting and waiting on God is not easy, but I find that He doesn't get frustrated if i ask for whole wheat bread! AND...He knows that I actually mean, Organic, sprouted whole-wheat bread...and He is STILL not frustrated ;-)  
He's alright with things taking a little longer, because He is much more interested in the process than He is the destination.  When you watch a toddler walk for the first time, the waddling they do to get to your arms is the best part...and when they fall, you are patient, because the process is so precious. I like to think that this is how God is with me...because I tend to do a lot of falling as I waddle along through life.

It was hot out yesterday in P.A.
Nothing like squeezing lemons to make fresh lemonade on a day that reminds me of summertime in Georgia :-) So I made some...yum.  Its hard work being a pioneer lady ;-)


I'm not actually such a pioneer lady, but I know a pioneer lady. Although, I HAVE been getting raw, organic milk at a nearby farm and making my own cheese!  I haven't quite mastered it yet, but I'm working on it.  My pioneer friend would probably be embarrassed if she knew I wrote about her in my blog, so I won't mention her name....we'll just call her Laura Ingalls Wilder...hehe that's the only well-known pioneer lady I could think of.  I just have to say- this lady is pretty amazing.  She's the kind of person you'd wanna have around if another Y2K scare creeps up on us....hmm with it being 2012, maybe I should try to persuade her to come on up to my neck of the woods! ;-)

She raised her family on the mission field and I guess she picked up some really neat skills along the way.  When I lived in the house with all the girls in Georgia, (with the two pups that I mentioned in the last blog), Laura Ingalls Wilder was one of my house-mates.  The girls had the neighbor til up our whole back yard so that we could plant a garden.  We grew cucumbers, watermelon, okra, black beans, peppers, black eyed peas, tomatoes, basil, cantaloupe, honeydue, corn, edamame, carrots, strawberries...and I'm sure some other things that I can't remember.  It was pretty fun to be able to cook from the backyard.  I remember that sometimes Laura Ingalls Wilder was able to make a WHOLE ENTIRE MEAL out of the front and back yards!  She discovered that there was this plant called, "poke," that was growing wild in the backyard, and she knew that if you cooked it, it was similar to spinach. So she made a meal out of the crops from the garden, poke, and wild mushrooms from the front yard....amazing :-)
She is so handy.  When walking in the house, I would be like, "hmmm where did that basket come from?" And someone would respond, "Oh, Laura Ingalls Wilder weaved it out of some crab-grass from the yard." That kind of comment always had the power to bring a smile to the crummiest of days :-)

I would love to be more like Laura Ingalls Wilder, or her two daughters, who are equally as lovely and pioneering :-) 
.............................
I just woke up in the middle of the night and decided to finish this blog.
I awoke with a lot of anxiety.  I have lived most of my life wrestling with the love of God.  It's always been really difficult for me to receive it....or even believe it. If I, being an extremely flawed human-being, would never scold or shame a toddler for falling while learning how to walk....how much more would a loving God, abounding in mercy and kindness, gladly extend his hand to pick me back up again and encourage me to keep waddling.    
You know how when sometimes things just seem to hit you later?  Well, my friend, Shu (pronounced "Shoe")...yes, that is her name - at least that is my name for her - wanted me to play this song for her youth group a while back. I wasn't able to do it, because I was going through a lot at the time. I recently came across the song again and when I listened to it, I just cried and cried and prayed....and cried....repenting and feeling like I was returning to the Lord after a long time of feeling too hurt, broken, or ashamed to reach out to Him.  You know what though, the feeling part of the repentance doesn't usually last and I am quickly back to loving other idols or seeking water from cracked wells, but I aspire to become steadfast....like "Mama Ros," no matter the circumstance of life...to love God in times of plenty and in times of lack...in sickness and in health.
I think this takes patience. Patience and trust.  These are things we grow into....or things we waddle into :-)

It's good ole' Jimmy Needham again...Clear the stage....an amazing song (thanks Shu :-)
Please, if you've read this far, listen to the song. 



Much love and freshly-squeezed lemonade,
Julie




4 comments:

  1. Julie, you're such a cutie.
    "Although, I HAVE been getting raw, organic milk at a nearby farm and making my own cheese! I haven't quite mastered it yet, but I'm working on it."
    I really would like to hear all about this. Can you write a blog on your experiences in cheese making? PLEASE!!!!

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    1. Ofcourse I will! In the spirit of Laura Ingalls Wilder, ofcourse ;-)

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