Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Lovely. Simply lovely.

How was everyone's Valentine's Day? Ours was lovely. (Haha! Get it? LOVEly?)

We had a simple meal - fried catfish and cheddar grits - but to me, there's no better way to show love than with some comfort food. I don't know who sent the catfish home with Brian - it was one of his coworkers - but whoever you are, thanks. It was great. (Though I think I've confirmed to myself that I'm not a fan of Old Bay seasoning. Is there cinnamon in there?)

Bo had honey ham and scrambled eggs in his kibble, which Brian says - and I agree - is one fine meal for a pooch.

The weather was beautiful all day, and the tomato seeds I wrote about here actually started sprouting! Now that was a nice thing to see on Valentine's Day. Last year I didn't soak the seeds before planting, and they took almost a month to germinate. So the moral here: soak 'em. I also got a Gurney's catalog in the mail, and you know what? The spell of those catalogs never fails to capture me. Pictures of ripe, juicy fruit, perfect vegetables, and lush flowers... sometimes I just have to throw the catalog into the trash to avoid spending my money on things that will not look like the pictures, with the lack of my gardening thumb. Or at least, not for a very, very long time.

(HOWEVER, Gurney's is a good company. They have a lifetime guarantee on their plants, and their quality is good. I'm not knocking them at all. But two years ago we ordered a couple hundred dollars worth of fruit trees, and we received a box of bare-root plants. Basically, a pile of twigs. It's just how they ship them. That was kind of a bummer. With patience, though, they flourished and are now all doing fantastically. So... take that as you will. Sorry for the long side note.)

Most of all, yesterday, I was struck by all the love I have in my life. Love from friends, family, Brian, and from God.

On Sunday the pastor asked us if anyone wanted to stand and share about the love of God in his or her life. Sitting there, I thought, How could you even begin? I should have stood, if only to say that I just didn't know how I could even express it. Life is good right now for me and Brian, but even if it wasn't, God would not love us any less. If he chooses to give us children someday, it won't mean he loves us more. As a human I'm so tempted to talk about God's love in terms of how he's kept us healthy, or because he's provided for us above and beyond our needs and even our wants. But I can't measure his love in that way. I just don't know how to measure it, but I love this verse of a hymn we sang on Sunday:

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

I don't know exactly what I would write on the parchment. Where I'd even start. Maybe just, Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you.

-Maeg

2 comments:

  1. That meal looks so perfect! I need to get some candlesticks for our table. It would be hard for me to fully describe the love of God in my life right now, too.

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  2. Thanks A! The candlesticks are some mismatched ones I picked up at thrift stores. They kind of make the table feel special when I pull them out.

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