I gave Mrs. Holland (Mom Holland) a gift certificate about a year ago for a "special meal of choice." And so, the other day she asked if she could redeem her gift certificate and if I'd make her favorite meal. Of course, I fix meals all the time, and even get inspired to make special dinners on occasion...but this one was going to be extra special! I love to cook and decorate and make things festive, so I set to work.
The day started off normal...if any days can be normal in the Holland household. After clean-up of breakfast (we eat early around here since everyone except me is rushing to school), I set about to peel potatoes so they would be ready to put in the pan at 11:30. Then I went to run a quick trip to Harrah (10 minutes away) to get a few groceries we didn't have. I wanted to get things ready so I could come back and work on other projects and not spend the whole morning cooking or running errands. Ahhhh......but such was not to be.
First my tire started going flat...so I had to find "air." Air is free...but I needed to find it in a tube, and for that I had to pay! Next, Harrah did not have what I needed, so then the only option was to drive to Midwest City - 30 minutes away. But when I got there, I discovered I had not brought enough money to buy what I needed, so I had to leave half the grocery cart behind at the register and only take bare essentials. How embarrassing and frustrating!
By this time, amidst all the errands and detours, it was almost 11am...yikes, the morning was almost gone. I raced home, while trying to avoid speeding, so I could get the potatoes on to boil. I then ran over to our local Academy Health food store to retrieve the items I hadn't had money to buy in town. (Thank goodness, Hollands have an account!) When I got back home, the house smelled like burned food....as the potatoe pot had boiled over and overflowed all over the stove. :-(((((( And if anyone has ever burned food, you know that it is nigh-on to impossible to get the smell out of the room.
Hollands were still at teacher's meeting so, thinking I still had half an hour to work, I continued to rush to get the smell out and things ready. I set and decorated the table, and went back to making food. But I realized I still didn't have everything, so rushed out for the missing ingredients. "Can I never get my head on straight? This is crazy," I moaned. When I came back, something else had burned! (I'm not this bad of a cook normally......I promise!!!) And then I saw Holland's walking home.....right in the middle of it all....the house stank from burned stove smell, and the food was not ready, nothing was right.....and I'd wanted it to be sooo perfect for them. I burst into tears. And when they walked in the door, I was still dribbling...
Needless to say, the food still ended up tasting good, and the candles were still just as pretty. But it made me think that maybe I was trying to play "Martha" a little too much, and maybe I needed to slow down and be more of a "Mary" again and focus on what is really important. Even if things don't work out perfectly as planned, God still has a plan. Thankfully, He is patient, and my character was strengthened once again.
The day started off normal...if any days can be normal in the Holland household. After clean-up of breakfast (we eat early around here since everyone except me is rushing to school), I set about to peel potatoes so they would be ready to put in the pan at 11:30. Then I went to run a quick trip to Harrah (10 minutes away) to get a few groceries we didn't have. I wanted to get things ready so I could come back and work on other projects and not spend the whole morning cooking or running errands. Ahhhh......but such was not to be.
First my tire started going flat...so I had to find "air." Air is free...but I needed to find it in a tube, and for that I had to pay! Next, Harrah did not have what I needed, so then the only option was to drive to Midwest City - 30 minutes away. But when I got there, I discovered I had not brought enough money to buy what I needed, so I had to leave half the grocery cart behind at the register and only take bare essentials. How embarrassing and frustrating!
By this time, amidst all the errands and detours, it was almost 11am...yikes, the morning was almost gone. I raced home, while trying to avoid speeding, so I could get the potatoes on to boil. I then ran over to our local Academy Health food store to retrieve the items I hadn't had money to buy in town. (Thank goodness, Hollands have an account!) When I got back home, the house smelled like burned food....as the potatoe pot had boiled over and overflowed all over the stove. :-(((((( And if anyone has ever burned food, you know that it is nigh-on to impossible to get the smell out of the room.
Hollands were still at teacher's meeting so, thinking I still had half an hour to work, I continued to rush to get the smell out and things ready. I set and decorated the table, and went back to making food. But I realized I still didn't have everything, so rushed out for the missing ingredients. "Can I never get my head on straight? This is crazy," I moaned. When I came back, something else had burned! (I'm not this bad of a cook normally......I promise!!!) And then I saw Holland's walking home.....right in the middle of it all....the house stank from burned stove smell, and the food was not ready, nothing was right.....and I'd wanted it to be sooo perfect for them. I burst into tears. And when they walked in the door, I was still dribbling...
Needless to say, the food still ended up tasting good, and the candles were still just as pretty. But it made me think that maybe I was trying to play "Martha" a little too much, and maybe I needed to slow down and be more of a "Mary" again and focus on what is really important. Even if things don't work out perfectly as planned, God still has a plan. Thankfully, He is patient, and my character was strengthened once again.
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