cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves

A couple days ago I discovered a can of pumpkin in the back of our pantry and I have not been able to stop thinking about it. I’ll be sitting doing my homework, minding my own business, and then out of nowhere a picture of the can will dance into my minds eye and I begin to imagine all the things that it could become…. totally forgetting about The Birth of the Big, Beautiful Art Market as pumpkin pies and cookies and breads do a Be Our Guest impersonation in my mind….and then I’ll snap back and banish the spicey orange pureed vegetable from my thoughts.

Today though was different. It came into my mind and I could almost taste warm pumpkin bread fresh out of the oven on the tip of my tongue. That was it. "Today’s the day," i said to myself. So I went into the kitchen and pulled out all the ingredients and my mom wondered in and exclaimed in delight, “oh! You’re using my green mixing bowl! Ohh you knooow that bread is going to be amazing if you’re making it in that!” this is my mom’s very favorite bowl. It’s a green pottery bowl and there is no other one like it on the planet, and it is very lovely.

So I’m mixing and throwing in spices and vanilla and the air is thick with flour like fog from clapping my dusty hands. I pour half the batter into a pie pan, yeaah I just felt like pie shaped bread sounded fun :P , and then I pull another dish out to pour the rest of the batter into….

And then,

Craaaaack! Shatttter. Silence.

i dropped the green bowl. I slapped my forehead with my floury hand and with shoulders slumped walked into the living room where my mom and sister were sitting.

“mom?”

“was it the blue bowl?!” my sister asked.

“no….. it was the green one.”

My mom stood up and walked slowly into the kitchen.

I apologized repeatedly and told my mom how mad I was at myself because I knew it was her favorite. She was quiet at first but then she just smiled at me and hugged me and said it was ok. She said she was glad that it had perished doing what it was made to do. And then she got this really excited look on her face and said,

“hey! We should save the pieces and make it into something new! Give it a new purpose!”

so we set about gathering pieces and washing them and stacking them somewhere safe. My mom is very excited about her new project. She may even write a story about that little bowl.

This morning was a visual and tangible reminder that true love is unconditional, quick to forgive, and can always see the potential in you even when you appear to be useless to the rest of the world.

The only love that I now that will always always always respond in this extreme truth is the Love of God. He loves us so much that he sent his son to take the blame for all our failures so that even when we look like we have no potential we can be made new and given a new purpose!

He loves us so much that he doesn’t get mad at us when we break something, he just hugs us and says, “its ok, lets make something new now.” And then he sits down with you to enjoy a warm delicious piece of pumpkin bread. :)

hope you are enjoying the end of your summers.... wish i could share warm bread with you all over the internet! much love till next time,

ginger