My Willow Tree figurines of grandmother and grandfather are symbolic of this phase of our lives. We have resumed family gatherings with our children and grandchildren, and are grateful.
Otherwise, we remain as sheltered as possible as Covid continues to storm around us. Some cases in our circle have been very mild, and some more severe. There have been several cases we know of in vaccinated people, but usually the more severe cases have been in those we suspect were unvaccinated. However, an acquaintance suffered a miserable two-week bout of Covid and needed the monoclonal antibody treatment--and she was fully vaccinated. A neighbor who may be unvaccinated (we don't know) spent a week in ICU and is still on oxygen. And tragically, an elderly lady from our town who had remained active in community activities died earlier this week of Covid. I've been told that she had been fully vaccinated.
We are blessed to be in a place in our lives that we can maintain relationship with family and friends and yet remain somewhat sheltered. We invited our fully vaccinated best friends over last night for pinochle and snacks. We see our children and grandchildren often, when they are well (viruses of all sorts have made a resurgence this school year). But we avoid restaurants and public gatherings, worship online on Sunday mornings, and obtain the majority of our groceries via curbside pickup. I've done most of my Christmas shopping online, and am grateful for the ability to do so.
This Sunday morning I have put 3 packages of stew meat on to simmer, filling the house with the the rich scent of aromatics and braising meat. This afternoon I will strain the cooking broth, roast some potatoes, cabbage, onions, and carrots, and combine them with the broth, meat, and some pureed tomatoes to make vegetable soup. I have both bread machines doing my work for me and will form and bake garlic breadsticks after a bit. If no grandchildren who appear in need of a bowl of soup and a breadstick or two appear, I will freeze the whole caboodle for the next time we gather. To paraphrase a quote from Field of Dreams, I've learned that "If I cook it, they will come!" And how blessed we are that our children and grands enjoy being here with us.
I've now settled in my comfortable chair, peppermint tea at my side and a Christmas afghan pulled to my chin. I'll read my Bible and then rest a bit as I did not sleep well last night.
I am appreciating the silence and peace of my sheltered place, but it is not a static assignment. I stay busy busy busy with what can only be described as preparation. I don't know whether I'm preparing to return to a more active community presence, or if my ministry will continue to be carried out more through my blogs and books than face-to-face, but the Lord knows. I hold it this time of sheltering loosely rather than clinging to it as a lifeline.
This is the place where I am called to be for this season, and I am grateful for it. I pray daily for those who are out and about, keeping the nuts and bolts of our world chugging forward; doing what they are called to do. That my call differs from theirs does not make me judgmental of them; on the contrary, I am grateful.
Meanwhile--I'll keep my ear open to the Lord, Day by day I keep thinking of the "feet fitted with readiness" described in Ephesians 6. Today my call is to keep the soup pot simmering and my heart filled with God's word as I pray for His people and for our world.
No comments:
Post a Comment