Sunday, December 27, 2009

The perfect end to our Cookie Countdown


First, I want to just say how much fun our baking month has been.
Truly, a time that I will cherish for many, many years...

The chocolate smeared smiles.
The flour covered floor.
The chubby little hands gripping wooden spoons.
The # of times I had to say "put it in the bowl- not in your mouth!"
The laughter.
The smiles.
The memories.
The mountain of dishes.
All of it.
I loved all of it.
(well, ok, maybe not all those dishes.)

Second- Thank you for all of your encouragement and support along the way. I can't tell you how excited I was when you would tell me how you had tried one of our recipes for your family too! You helped to make this experience all the more wonderful.

At the beginning of December when we began our journey I fully intended to deliver our baking to a nursing home right in our community. It was perfect- close by (less then a minute away) and the thought of my little munchkins bouncing into each room singing Merry Christmas and delivering our baking to some lovely seniors was almost too much for my heart to bear.

But God....well, he had a different plan.
A plan that turned out to be wonderful and amazing and much, much different from my own. It was the perfect plan and I am still in awe of Him and His love for His people.

We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.
Proverbs 16:9

The week before Christmas I realized I'd better get myself organized and actually contact the nursing home to get permission to come in and visit.
Well, it turned out that the health region has a policy in place that no children under the age of 10 were allowed to visit due to the H1N1 virus. I tried a few other places close by and they all said the same thing, as well as, due to dietary restrictions, they don't accept outside food for their residents.

Hmmmm....

We decided to drop off a plate of goodies at our local police/fire station. Just to thank them for working so hard for us on Christmas, when we know how much they'd rather be home with their families.

As for the rest of our baking, well, I had a few other ideas.... one in particular that I thought would be awesome but was a little hesitant because of my little ones. So, we called a few different places first, but again didn't get anywhere. So, after a few conversations with the birthday boy (Jesus!) we decided to go ahead and do it....

"It" was to drive downtown and deliver our baking to the homeless.

And God was there.

He was there in the excitement my heart felt as we drove downtown.
He was there in my son's questions about why people live on the streets.
He was there in the way my little guy quickly grew from a bored little boy (the drive seemed to make him a little cranky) to one who couldn't wait to find another person to give our baking to.
He was there in the faces of the men we handed our baking to.
He was there as they bent down to shake my six year old's hand and as they smiled at my two year old.
He was there as we'd drive off from each delivery and my son would excitedly squeal "Mom! Look! They are eating it already! They must really like our baking!"
And, He was there when the sweetest of men took the baking from my son, looked up at me and smiled. Then after he opened the tin, his face changed from a smile of gratitude to....well, to be honest, I really can't explain that moment. It was amazing. It was priceless.
His face held the biggest smile and he waved excitedly and thanked us profusely.

It was the moment that made the whole month of our messy kitchen and mountain of dishes worth it.
It was the moment that I truly felt my heart stop..... I saw Jesus in his eyes.

Then, this sweet man called his friends over and began sharing his gift with them too.

As we drove home we prayed for each of these men. To hear my son's voice asking God to be with the men to help them know who He is, to keep them warm and give them food.
Well, it near broke my heart.

After we prayed my son yelled from the backseat the sweetest words I've ever heard.
"Mom! Can we do this again next year?!"

Yes, I do believe we have started a new tradition.
I want to see God again in those faces.
I want to breath in His sweetness.
And I want my kids to do the same.

9 comments:

  1. I am crying!! You are an ispiration Sara!!! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  2. yup - I am in tears too!

    well done, friend, well done.

    ReplyDelete
  3. wow, what a gift.

    You, my friend, have His hands and feet.

    ReplyDelete
  4. i am in tears!
    I LOVE THIS! LOVE THIS!

    oh i can just imagine their faces! the jesus in you saw them. sometimes all someone wants is to be seen, and in being seen loved. the jesus in you loved them.

    the jesus in you is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  5. wow, Sara. This made me cry. This is really beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Incredible. Crying right along with all the others who have read this post.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am crying!! You are an ispiration Sara!!! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for this inspirational story! It made me cry. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for leaving your comments. I absolutely love hearing from you :)

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails