Macaroni and Cheese (and other small comforts)

Macaroni and Cheese (and other comforts)
I have found that when life is totally unstable and uncertain, little things that can bring comfort become very big things. Today I woke to electricity going out (translation- really quiet, really hot) and lay in bed wondering if grace would be enough today (it was, in case you were wondering. MORE than enough). Before 9:00 am, our plans had changed five times over, and at 9:30 I found myself sitting in a language lesson for the second hour of learning the alphabet. I look back on my kindergarten years with amazement and fondness now- why couldn’t they make picture flashcards for Arabic? Seriously. A is for Apple, B is for Ball- I mean, those make sense. By 10:30 am, I knew the alphabet about as well as can be expected and wanted nothing more than a long nap and a little stability. It turns out neither were in the plans for the day, but the Father knows what he’s doing (shocker) and in exchange for the nap I got fajitas. With salsa and sour cream and real cheddar cheese. And the best steak I’ve had in a long time (or maybe it was just steak in a place I didn’t expect it…always makes it taste better). I spent an hour in the kitchen making the salsa and preparing with my supervisor and had wonderful conversation while my other two sisters were out recovering lost baggage (TIA). Unexpected down time after washing dishes lent to a spontaneous pedicure party for all the females of the house complete with the first music from home I’ve heard since leaving it (oh Ipod, how I love thee). An hour later, our toes were sparkly, our heels were smooth, and the three of us were the only ones left. We lay on the cool tile and talked as if we hadn’t been together 24-7 for the last six days. Listening to Derek Webb’s “House Show” for the 600th time, I realized that despite the total instability that characterizes this season of my life, contentment comes in little doses that go quite a long way. The Father does not ask us to be lone rangers, picking the hardest thing we can find just to prove we can do it. Neither does he send us places just to laugh at us when the pressure almost breaks us. No indeed, we cry out to him and in return he sends his love and kindess (Ps. 57). In little things like fajitas, good music and conversation, and clean feet. These things are not guaranteed, they are just little gifts…a hand squeeze from a Dad who loves us a whole lot, sees us right where we are, and has promised to be faithful no matter what.

And if all that wasn’t enough, we had macaroni and cheese for dinner. Heaven.