Honey Baked Delight

A few years back my husband’s company was empty of business. As we waited on new clients, we scrimped every penny. We didn’t know when the next check would come in. Feeding five children and keeping a roof over our heads felt like an ominous task during this time. It was another opportunity to see Papa show up.

Have you ever had those moments when you remember something you ate years before with fondness? The remembrance is so strong that you can almost taste it. I hadn’t thought of the honey baked turkey since the couple brought it to us when Samuel was born, years before. But one day in the midst of the financial famine, it was fresh on my mind. So fresh I could taste it. If I could just buy one of those turkeys.....

The calculator in my brain started adding up bills. Maybe I would find some leftover change. After all we could eat it for a several days. Though the longing was calling out to me, I just couldn’t reason the twenty-five dollar expense. It was too costly. So after much deliberation, I gave up my desire. I didn’t tell anyone about it, not even God. I just let it go.

A day or two later a friend called to invite me to lunch. Would it be OK if she brought her teenage children to baby-sit mine. How fast could I say yes? After all, life had been pretty hard. Five children 10 and under, and a husband’s business failing was taking it’s toll on us all.

She showed up with her teenagers and home made cookie dough. Her children wanted to treat my kids while she treated me. As we drove down the road she mentioned that she had left dinner in the refrigerator for me. Could the day get any better?

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch where she listened to my heart allowing me to reveal my weariness. She understood. Her husband had been in medical school for years, working odd jobs, to keep their family of 6 afloat. Having the opportunity to talk to someone who understood was just what my heart needed.

Time passes too quickly in those getaway moments. Before you knew it lunch was over and we were headed back home to my reality of small children and tight finances. She gathered up her teens, gave me a final hug and headed out the door. I headed to the refrigerator to see what we were having for dinner. As I opened the door, there it stood. You know what it was, don’t you? A honey baked turkey.

I had no words, only tears. How did she know that just days before I had longed for just one piece? She didn’t know, Papa did. He lavished His love on me in a way that rocked my world. It was a moment that is still ripe in my mind, now ten years later. I savored every bite, delighting in the revelation of how intimately I was loved.

I didn’t ask Papa for a honey baked turkey. I didn’t pray an eloquent prayer. I didn’t even verbalize my desire. I just longed for it.

I didn’t have to ask. He saw, He knew....He loved. I saw God’s love in a tangible way that day. It changed me for all eternity. I am intimately and deeply loved by my Papa. He bought me a honey baked turkey.

Do you see how much He longs to love you in tangible ways?

Papa, thank you for your beautiful gift to me 10 years ago. I can still remember as though it were yesterday. Thank you that you care so deeply even for the simple things that matter to us. Thank you that you long to give us the desires of our heart. Thank you for your deep, intimate love.

Also posted at: Internet Cafe.

© copyrighted 2008 by Julie L. Todd