Tag Archives: Presbyterian

Am I just baking or ….?

12 Aug

The summer after I graduated high school, a boy that I really liked drowned. I was only seventeen, and somehow in my young heart I thought he was “the one.” For quite some time I did not know how I would continue to live. Truly, it was devastating.

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Prep for A Raspberry Peach Cobbler

I needed to find comfort from someone in authority, so I went to the Baptist church up the street (where my little sister was in Bible school) and asked to speak with the minister. When I told him what had happened, the first question he asked me was “Did he accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior?”  I just looked at him and stammered, “Well, he was Catholic” and then he said, “Unless he had accepted Jesus, he is in Hell.”  This was not helping… and so I left quickly and decided to call the minister from my own church.  When I reached him, I told him I needed to talk to someone and he told me to come right away.

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Gluten Free Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

When I arrived, he invited me into the house where I’d babysat for his kids many times. After I told him what had happened, he shared some thoughts on the Presbyterian view of the afterlife (Hell was not emphasized) and after a while I felt better and got up to leave. If only he had not added these parting words: “Karen, you had me worried.  I thought you were going to say you were pregnant.” This was not what I needed to hear from the man who’d been my pastor for ten years.

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A Cobbler to Celebrate a Legal Marriage!

Two different men of faith, and with both I was left feeling completely lost and alone. No one suggested counseling – or even prayer – at that time, which is too bad because  I know I could have used it.  What did help me way back then was something that still sustains me to this day. Baking.  I began to bake every day. I brought cakes and cookies and all kinds of goodies to all of our friends, relatives, and neighbors.  Death was something out of my control, but baking—I could handle that.

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A Chocolate Cream Pie in honor of my friend’s Dad’s passing

Perhaps this is why in the last few months, I have baked many, many pies. Baking grounds me, makes me feel better, and when I am baking, I am putting all of my heart into the process.  It doesn’t hurt that it brings smiles to the folks that receive the fruits of my labor.  I think  perhaps I have found a delicious way for God to work through me… and that feels like the best comfort of all.

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A Four Berry Pie

“Where love is, there God is also.”  Mahatma Gandi

 

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Day 351: Linda (and Chuck)

22 Mar

Apple Blueberry Pie

When I think about my life, I realize that it is mostly a collection of memories that are held together by tiny threads.  This tapestry of memories is not something you can see, but if you could look at it, you would learn a lot about who I am and what is important to me.  

Here is an example for your to consider.  A few years ago, a long-time member of our Rotary club passed away.  The club members were told that there was going to be a service for him and if anyone wanted to help with food or anything, they should call Linda as she was coordinating the event.

As I had already committed to working in the Rotary garden that morning, I knew that I could not attend the service, but I called Linda and asked if she needed any help afterwards.  When I reached her, she said that she didn’t need any food so I was off the hook.  I told Linda that I wasn’t offering food, but I could come and work in the kitchen if she needed any help there.  She seemed a bit surprised, but told me to show up and introduce myself and she would put me to work.

The next day, after helping in the garden, I went home, changed into “presentable” attire and went to meet the crew in the kitchen at the Methodist Church.  When I arrived, I found a bunch of ladies  arranging food on platters, clearing trash from the dining room, and washing dishes.  I met Linda and then got busy wherever I was needed.  After a while, I asked to take a turn at the dish sink.  The little old woman who’d been washing, stepped aside, and asked  me what church I belonged to.  I told her “the Presbyterian Church on Walker.”  She watched me working for a few minutes and then asked, “Have you ever thought of becoming a Methodist?”  It still makes me smile to remember that moment.

Linda and her husband, Chuck, are wonderful members of our community, and they always are giving of their time or talents.  And because they would never expect it, I brought them an Apple Blueberry Pie today.  My guess is that they will share it with some of their employees… but I hope they enjoy a bit of it for themselves.  They most certainly deserve it.

What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us: what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.  Albert Pike

 

 

 

 

 

 

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