Click Clack Shoes

I remember her perfume
Mingled with make-up, hair spray
Comforting was the mingled scent

So many things to adorn herself
Leaning into the mirror
to blend her make-up

Sunday mornings all dressed up
Click Clack went her shoes

I sat on her satin slipped lap
ribbons and bows
she curled my young locks

Now I lean into the mirror
blend my make-up

I have no young curls to curl
nor ribbons to tie,
rather I have belts to tighten
and cowlicks to flatten.

And I wear the Click Clack shoes.

The sound of Sunday morning

~By Gillian Brickey, August 2011~

Chicken is Today's Manna

Tonight’s lesson at our church’s children’s program was about the complaints of the Israelites as they wandered in the desert (Exodus 16).  Hearing their hunger complaints, God provided quail and a food called “manna” for them.  It was more than sufficient for the day, so God said not to hold any over for the next day because He would provide for them again.  Some did not believe the Lord, however, so they hid an extra portion for the next day.  Overnight their leftovers rotted and became infested with worms.  Despite their complaints and lack of faith in God’s provision, God continued to provide for their needs.  He even made the manna last TWO days to accommodate the Sabbath.  The tidy little lesson for the kids: God is faithful, so we shouldn’t complain. Little did I know that God was going to use our sweet Z to drive home that point.

We loaded our family into the car after dinner at church.  As usual, we brought the twins' picnic while the rest of us ate what was served to the congregation.  As I pulled away from the curb, completely randomly, three year-old Z declared: "I'm GREAT.  'know why I great?  I great because I ate chickeeeen, and leeeeeeaves, and applesaauuuuce, and rice milk." 

Let me break this down for you.  They had broiled boneless skinless chicken breasts.  Plain romaine lettuce leaves without dressing.  Natural applesauce.  And plain rice milk (not vanilla flavored). 

Thank you, Lord, for his thankful heart.

Even as I packed their dinner tonight I had a complaining spirit.  I wondered when I would be able to give them something more exciting than this plain, bland menu.  But the truth is they eat healthier than the rest of us in our house.  They’ve never had a preservative other than salt.  They only eat foods from the produce and meat departments.  Truly their menu is the Lord’s manna – it is sufficient for them.

A woman in a Bible study I attended last spring heard some of our food allergy woes, and she said, “Is not life more than food?”  And she pointed me to the Sermon on the Mount.  I’ve read it so many times before, but never with a food allergy lens.  Matthew 6:25 ESV says:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”    www.biblegateway.com

I posted this scripture above my kitchen sink to remind me to ditch the anxiety and trust the Lord, yet I still hit our latest snag and I fell back to my grumbling spirit.  We call it a “dark cloud” moment when we come across yet another discouraging thing in the world of food allergies.  Our latest dark cloud was discovering that Z is allergic to cinnamon, and then learning that it shares a food family with avocados, to which I already knew he was allergic.  Had I known about food families ahead of time I may have had an opportunity to spare him the cinnamon reaction, or at least have had a more informed decision about trying it.  So now I have set about familiarizing myself with food families and “common cross-reactivity” before we try anything else…grrrrrrrr.  I feel like I should have known these concepts YEARS ago, yet I have to stumble across “food families” on the internet while searching for “cinnamon allergy.”  It was just a small dark cloud compared to others in the past, but it was a dark cloud nonetheless.   

But there’s another great scripture for my dark cloud days that often pops into my mind:

Philippians 2:14-15 ESV says: Do all things without grumbling or questioning that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Ouch.

I’ve said so many times that “I just need to vent,” and I do just that.  I vent.  But does it really help?  Often I get more stirred up, more frustrated with my helplessness and more irritated with allergists who can really only TEST and are pretty much worthless in the realm of actually living with allergies or discerning them in the real world. 

Sigh.  See?  There I go again.  It’s a loose trigger. 

But then there’s my sweet Z.  He has the most severe allergies that keep us hopping, yet he gets in my car after yet another meal of more of the same, and he’s "great."  He reminds me that for some, including my twins, tonight's dinner is a banquet. 

Z also reminded me that for today anaphylaxis was not our reality.  Tonight’s chicken was Z’s manna.  And he is thankful, as am I.

Lord,

Thank you that Z was so delighted with his meal that he inspired me to think of you and all that you have done for our family.  Most of all, thank you for today’s manna.  It is sufficient.  Lord, you are sufficient.

Love,

G

Life Hinged On a Book and a Prayer

Yes, it's another post about reading to our kids.  I have to keep learning the lesson that reading to them at bedtime is truly a treasure.  Even when I try to skip it, the kids bring us back to it, and it's so worth it. 

Yesterday was a long day in Mommyland. As everyone came home from work and school I found myself tired and a bit shaken. It was a day of experiences that challenged what I thought I knew from food allergies to grammar, to cooking garlic bread, and it all seemed to crumble (literally for the garlic bread, whoops!).  We worked to get the kids in bed on time, but their hilarious-when-not-at-bedtime antics slowed the process.  I just wanted the day to end and for peace and quiet to fill the house.  I was going to just skip the books and turn off the light so I could rush into the end of my night, but then our second son asked, "Mommy, are you going to read Fox in Socks to Z and S tonight?"

"Maybe, why?"

"I was wondering if you could read it really loud so I can hear it from my room."  

My heart melted.  I know it's not about the book.  "N, why don't you guys just come into Z and S's room and we'll read it together." 

So we read Fox in Socks together.  And then Brown Bear, Brown Bear.  I turned the pages, N read the words, Z and S dangled off their beds to see the pictures, A listened nearby with Legos, and The Hubs lingered in the doorway.  After the books we prayed with our boys.  The Holy Spirit nestled among us as we prayed together for our day, for friends whom God has healed, for healing from allergies, and for each other.

It's amazing what taking an extra few minutes with a book and a prayer can do to wind down a house of busy boys!  Sweet relief came to my weary and anxious spirit.  We finally tucked everyone into bed and turned out the lights.  Conversations between the two rooms continued for a few more minutes, but for the most part the house was quiet.  The Hubs and I finished buttoning up the house together, talking about our day and strategizing the days to come, and then we went our separate ways.  I sat down to study grammar for home school in the den (and you can tell by my posts that I have a LOT of studying to do!), and he went to the other end of the house to study for seminary.

Friends: My day was messy. My house was messy.  I was messy. (I even donned the faded Mickey Mouse t-shirt and flannel plaid pj bottoms BEFORE dinner!...yeah...it was THAT kind of day). 

But as I counted my blessings after my long day, taking a step back to look at the Big Picture, I realized yet again: God is so good in His simple love and care for us.

I distractedly studied for a couple of hours and then closed the books. Walking to bed I passed the twins' room and saw through the shadows a sweet little leg dangling out of S's bed. I went in and smothered his sweet little face with kisses, he moaned, rolled over, and tucked his leg safely back into his covers. I checked on all of my boys and then headed to bed.  Even in his sleepiness The Hubs still put his hand on mine.   Be Still My Heart! 

During this "I think I can," season of my life, when I feel like the Little Engine That Could with huge tasks set before me, I am thankful for oasis moments like last night when the world seems to stop for a moment.  Things get WILD around here, but for just a moment it was still.  And now I'm off to start another day feeling renewed thanks to a book and a prayer.