Some days it is hard for me to get motivated to do household chores or work hard to make healthy meals.
Every thing is different now.
Will, my beloved husband, was always so encouraging and LOVED everything I cooked for him.
He always encouraged me to try new things…to experiment with new recipes and just create. And he was always there ready to sample, hug me from behind as he leaned over the stove to peek at what I was cooking and then nuzzle my neck and tell me how amazing I was for doing what I did for our family. ((tears))
I miss him so much…especially when I am preparing meals or cleaning up the kitchen.
He was always quick to grab a towel and help out with the dishes and we would have wonderful talks while working together.
Now everything has changed.
I cook for two very picky eaters who need to eat healthy meals but like to wriggle their noses up when I make something Will and I used to love to eat but they aren’t so sure really is as good as we believed.
It takes all of my patience and strength to not give up on cooking what is good for us.
It takes all of my strength as I continue to recover and deal with daily back pain from the injuries that are still healing to do the dishes and work to convince our nine year old to help me with one of his least favorite chores…drying. And the pain gets worse when I allow myself to get stressed by his lack of interest in working with me in the kitchen.
This morning, during my quiet time, it hit me. I can go on doing the right thing in our kitchen for our little family. Even while cooking for children who aren’t always thrilled with what I make them, I can remember this Scripture and never give up…
23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. Colossians 3:23-24 NLT
God still sees the love and effort I put into each meal. It is Him that I do it for, not for the children who turn up their noses at something special I make that I know Will would love and I do but they just are “into it”.
While preparing meals for someone who loved everything I made him and constantly showed his appreciation for all I did was an amazing experience…I need to remember that what I do still matters.
I need to remember that the Lord is with me. He sees what I do. He smiles at my excitement over trying new things. He smiles when I don’t give up.
He is there when I need the encouragement.
He is there when I need the strength to continue on.
He will help me to keep joy…while it is and will be different from when I was blessed to cook for my husband…my biggest fan. He will help me find a new joy in serving Him for the sake of serving Him. Someday I will hear His voice and I pray He will say…well done my daughter.
With that in mind…I can go on. I can find the strength to not give up on my love of cooking, even when it isn’t always received with the same joy it was made.
Joy in banging on pots and pans with our boys as we rang in 2013 together.
Yes, everything is different now, but there are moments of joy, laughter, fun…just about different things.
God gave me three years of love and appreciation in the kitchen and with my cooking. Appreciation I had never experienced before…a true gift.
Now I will learn to do it for the love of doing it, not concerning myself with how it will be received. Someday they will grow up and appreciate the effort, but I do it because I love them…because I love God and I have the blessing of having these two precious boys to cook for and train and expose to healthy foods that they wouldn’t try on their own.
And once again, I will go on. I will face the task of cooking for my boys and me with a new joy…knowing God is there with me looking over my shoulder and I can hear His quiet voice in my heart say…well done my daughter.
And I am learning to enjoy the joy they bring my heart as we snuggle and read together, as we play together, sing together…God is helping me remember and focus on those moments instead of the moments I miss with my Will in heaven now.
One day at a time…it gets easier.
And Scriptures like these remind me who I am serving each day…and that makes everything a little easier.
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Unwrapping His Grace,
Mary Joy
Be sure to come back on Monday for our new Marriage Mondays with encouraging devotional articles written by our own Gina Marie! I have had the incredible blessing of meeting Gina and her husband this past June. The love between them is awesome! And their family is SO precious! And their love for God as a married couple is inspiring. I hope our married readers will be sure to stop by and take in what God is doing through Marriage Mondays!
