Salt The Walnuts

I looked down at my once-navy shirt, now boasting a white flour band around my middle.

Oh yeah.

I thought back to a couple nights ago as bacon grease popped out of the pan and onto my shirt.

I really ought to use that apron more often.

Violin music floated through the air and I glanced over at one boy who was supposed to be finishing a task. My Procrastinator Professionale. He blinked. I nodded. He grinned.

I wrapped up the pastry dough and stuck it in the freezer. Hopefully I’d remember to take it out before it was too frozen for dinner.

There was a section of Brambly Hedge the other day that especially tickled me -

‘Look, my dear,’ said Mr Apple, ‘if the sea mice can manage to get the salt all the way up to us, I’m sure Dusty can sail downstream to fetch it.’
‘I can’t think of why we’ve run out,’ said Mrs Apple. ‘It’s never happened before. Perhaps I shouldn’t have salted all those walnuts.’
‘Stop worrying,’ said Mr Apple. ‘Look, they’re about to leave.’
(The Complete Brambly Hedge, pg. 193)

You don’t to have read the whole story to get the point here, though it might help to know that Brambly Hedge takes place in the world of rodents and some needed to sail downstream to Purslane and Thrift Saltapple to acquire more salt for their baking endeavors.

But how can the salt have run out? The walnuts, surely those darn walnuts. Shouldn’t have salted them.

Where did those rolls of tape go? Walls. Beds. Cardboard boxes. I should’ve known better.

How can there be no clean laundry? Simply, people kept wearing clothing. And I have not added any more to the washing machine.

How can this child’s shoes be too small? Well, dear me, he grew while I wasn’t looking.

These mice are so relatable.

Where no oxen are, the trough is clean;
But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.
Proverbs 14:4

It turns out that children are messy, keeping a home is hard work, and sometimes, to everyone’s shock and horror, things escape a mom’s mind. The trough could be clean though, think of it – cabinets with no fingerprints, walls with no dents, books with no missing pages. Imagine a day.

Yet those fingerprints came from nosy little babies and toddlers. The wall dent (which one?)? A child’s head, naturally. The books missing pages are often ones that have been read and re-read. Life without these memories would be sterile and void. We’ve all been made better by each season and situation. These little people will grow up to add to the Lord’s world in their own ways. What great increase!

Go ahead, make the effort. Do the things. Salt the walnuts. And don’t forget to pull the dough out of the freezer for dinner.

Merry Christmas 2024

Every year my mind swirls with thoughts of all kinds.

How challenging is it to ride a donkey for miles…while pregnant? Did the animals recognize this baby was special? What would it be like to birth your Creator? Thank God this only happened once - He only needed to come once - God came to earth as a man!

What is my response? Thankfulness, so much thankfulness, whether breakfast is on time or not. Thankfulness even if the tree is dead and gone, which it is, hanging on by a few needles. The tree that reminds us how our Creator spent His first days as a human in a manger, and was later hung on another tree - taking our sins with Him forever.

I hold our infant and think of Mary, what amazement she must’ve felt. I watch our older kids open their gifts and shout for joy, smiling big, and I wonder what God thought as He watched the shepherds and wise men excitedly search for His Gift. The best Gift. What joy!

Merry Christmas, friends. God is so kind.

It Is Well

He got the news from his wife, “saved alone…” Their four daughters had drowned, pulled out of their mother’s arms by the strong current. Only she had survived. Not long before, the couple had lost their only son. All of their children, gone in the blink of an eye.

As he traveled to meet up with his wife, he passed the place where his daughters had lost their lives. Grieving, he tucked himself away and began to write.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Horatio Spafford wrote this poem in the late 1800s, and it was turned into a song that is still sung today. Amy Carmichael once said, “a cup brimful of sweetness cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, no matter how suddenly jarred.” Surely Spafford was suddenly, intensely jarred - and sweet water was spilled.

If you are jarred, dear Christian, what will you spill? When the waves of life jostle you to spill a drop, or many drops - will the water be bitter or sweet?

If it be bitter, take heart. Repent and be comforted by His forgiveness. It is hard to imagine spilling sweet water after devastating loss, such as Spafford experienced. Sweet water from the depths of our beings must come from complete satisfaction and trust in our Lord. It cannot be manufactured on our own; there will be trials far beyond what we can muster strength and grace for.

Has He saved you? Taken your sins and nailed them to the cross, that you bear them no more? If He can conquer this feat, He is trustworthy for all the rest.

He who made the stars, does He not know the hairs on our heads? He who tells the wind to blow, the sun to shine - does He not see our frames and know our trials before they arrive? “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Rest in Him.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Children are Blessings

We live in a culture that hates children. They are seen as annoying, distracting, and inconvenient. There are so many examples of this! Summer break starts, and many parents whine about having their kids home. School starts and parents rejoice about “not having to deal” with them anymore - but then whine about how many pairs of shoes they have to buy because *gasp* their feet grew. Not that long ago - a whole three years ago - if you walked through a store, you’d inevitably see a stressed-out mother barking at her children to stop, stop, stop! (Now we place orders for pickup and avoid the chance to train our kids how to act in public!) There are bumper stickers of little faces with “financial burden on board” written next to them. Some people take it a step further and use children for their own gain, through pedophilia and trafficking and murder. It is even considered “brave” to murder a child in the womb, if it means the mom will supposedly have a better life without the child.

Now, not everyone sees children this way or treats them poorly. But our culture is very anti-children, and I am using these examples to prove that point.

Is this negative perspective on children what Scripture teaches? Are children distracting from other good works? Are they just here for cute Instagram photos and hopefully the chance to brag on their accomplishments in college some day? Do their lives have actual meaning and purpose?

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.”
Psalm 127:3

Scripture tells us that children are a heritage - a legacy; something that goes beyond one generation. They are a reward, and they were created on purpose!

“Children are not distractions from more important work. They are the most important work.”
C.S. Lewis

Children are a heritage and reward…

…when pregnancy and labor are hard, and the first few days are spent in the NICU.

…when the days are long and filled with messes.

…when they sleep well, and when they don’t.

…when they are cheerful, or chronically sick.

…when bouts of sickness rampage the whole family.

…when they learn lessons quickly, or take their time.

…when they ask uncomfortable questions and put you on the spot.

…when your plans for them pan out, and when they don’t.

…when they arrive in your family biologically, through foster care, and through adoption.

…when they appreciate your efforts for them and when they don’t.

…when they like your cooking, and when they don’t.

And on and on we can go. We don’t get to decide whether or not our children are gifts; God says they are! When the temptation comes to complain about your child, bring this truth to mind. Bring it to mind when you are tempted to compare your child to another woman’s child.

Have you ever prayed that God would allow you to see your children how He sees them? This is one way to do just that! Memorize Psalm 127:3 and train yourself to recall it in every situation. You will see more often just how your children are blessings. Your child/children were made by Him and put specifically in your family. He has given you a heritage, and a reward! Praise Him and thank Him often! We may not be able to change our culture’s view on children singlehandedly. But we can provide a home where our children know that they have worth from God, based on what Scripture says about them. Families built around the Word of God do collectively change culture over time. Be encouraged!