29 July 2013

Weekend reflections

My father-in-law is here visiting from Lebanon.  It's a special time for us.  For some reason, food has an important place in our special moments, so you can imagine I've been a little busy in the kitchen.  In fact, over the weekend I did a lot of cooking now that I think about it.  Spinach pies, stuffed grape leaves, labneh, corn on the cob, cheese-topped flatbread, etc.  It struck me during the preparations for each dish and each meal, how rich we were.  Not, obviously, in the obvious sense, but in the more traditional sense.  Here I was, surrounded by mounds of spinach, onions, grape leaves, watermelon, cherries, pears, strawberries and blueberries.  I felt like a king going through his treasury!  We ate from the bounty of the harvest and it was delicious.

I am thankful for those moments of realization - how God takes care of me (us) through each season.  I also had a feeling of deja vu, as if we were back in Lebanon and enjoying the fruits in their seasons!

Here are some of my happy reflections - perhaps somewhat simple and primitive to be called such, but nonetheless... 

  • Washing a bowl of blood red cherries and leaving them to brighten the kitchen as they drained in the colander.
  • Chopping up spinach and onions (with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of sumac) to make into delightful pies.
  • Sneaking the first corn cob and then going back for seconds without minding who saw.  It was that good!
  • Tearing up spinach to steam with ground beef.  Extra memorable when eaten over a bed of rice...
  • Cutting open a huge watermelon and wanting to lick up the juices that ran over the counter.
  • Rolling out dough with M and J as they asked repeatedly for the story of the wise man - the one who built his house on the rock - complete with accompanying song and actions.  
Hope your weekend was full of simple blessings too.  

1 comment: