July 17
God’s Precious Gift
“Grandlady, you’re the bestest cook in the whole world, you’re even better than Mommy.” I assure you, this was not the brightest comment I’d ever made. Politely, my Grandmother thanked me for the compliment, as she gently scolded me for the comparison.
It got kinda quiet around the table, Mom looked down, Dad looked through me and I looked, well—pretty stupid. My grandmother was a good cook; she had a way of turning simple food into a feast. Her secret was the bacon grease she stored in an old coffee tin under the sink and used in many of her dishes. You have to remember that “health food” to a Southerner is a T-bone steak with fried potatoes and buttermilk biscuits.
I later apologized to Mom, after all, she is a terrific cook. My intent was not to put her down, I was just trying to give my Grandmother a compliment and I couldn’t think of a higher compliment than to say she is better than Mom (who everyone knows is the best cook.)
I’m glad I learned this lesson before I got married. Almost every man has eaten a T.V. dinner one night because he compared his wife’s cooking to his mother’s the day before.
Motherhood isn’t a contest, but it is an awesome responsibility and privilege. It is a responsibility because God holds parents responsible for raising their children in the Lord. It is a privilege because children are God’s precious gifts.
“and she said to him, “As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 28So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.” (1 Samuel 1:26–28)
Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).
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