The Jam Woman

....apparently, it is in my jeans genes to be a "Mother Earth" type. I have fought against this for a very long time; i came from a long line of "Mother Earth" types, such as my Great Grandma, my Grandma, my Aunt Miguela, and my Mama. I didn't want to be the type of woman who grew trees from seeds for fruit. I didn't want to be the type of woman who could take a curtain and make a summer shirt out of it by sewing. I didn't want to grow tomatoes or cucumbers. I didn't want to be the type of woman who went and picked their own pecans and shelled them instead of paying for them. I didn't want to be the type of woman who picked fruit and made jam....

I wanted to be a "working girl".

Yeah. Been there, done that. Not so much fun.

But i did have a lot of nice working girl clothes and amazing heels....

("working girl" clothes didn't somehow sound right, LOL....)

I really had no idea, none at all that i would morph into a Mother Earth type. I made fun of the women in my life for being Mother Earth types. I teased, giggled and laughed at them unmercifully. The chances of me being Mother Earth were about the same as me getting re-married and having a daughter. I was sure of it!

Oh.

Wait a second.

That's right.

I did get re-married and have a daughter.

hehee.....(blush)

I forget things sometimes.

Anyhoo, i made Strawberry Jam yesterday and Strawberry Creame Cheese for bagels.

It was awesome.

It was amazing.

It was FUN.

And it turned out so yummy.

The next thing that will probably happen is that i'll be planting fruit trees in the back yard.

Oh, wait....i'm planning on doing that, aren't i?

sigh.....

Easy Jam Recipe from The Loveless Cafe

~5 cups of Strawberries, cleaned, hulled and cut in half.
~1 cup of sugar (i think that you could use less...)

Directions: Place cleaned, hulled and cut Strawberries into a pot that you'll cook them in. Pour sugar all over strawberries and stir to get all strawberries covered. Let the strawberries and sugar sit for 2 hours so the strawberries will release their juices. After sitting for two hours in their sugar-bath, heat on stove, stirring occasionally for 45 minutes or till your jam is the consistency you like. Put in jar with a lid with a good seal; a Mason Jar and lid is perfect. If you'd like to make the Strawberry Creame Cheese, just add 8 oz of cream cheese to your jam after it's cooled. Store in refrigerator or give as gifts.

Again.

A few short weeks ago, i received a call from a friend about Leslee, a woman in our MOPS group that i have admired a great deal. Leslee has four small children and is the wife of a minister. She is a gentle soul, Leslee is, with a heart that is giving and full of love for her family.

The phone call from Leslee's best friend, Jennifer, literally took my breath away as i learned that her mother had cancer and was not given much time.

"Much time" as in weeks or days.

I wanted to help. I wanted to do something, anything.

What i really wanted was to make my sweet friend's mother better.

Better, you know, as in cured.

You can imagine all of the emotions that i felt and how i felt like, at that very moment, yelling at God and then begging him to stop what was going on with Leslee's sweet Mama.

Last night, i received this email from Jennifer:

Our sweet, precious sister in Christ went home to be with our Lord this evening, about an hour ago. She fought really hard, especially these last few days. I know most of you did not have the privilege of knowing her, but I did for the past 20 years. What a kind, caring, funny, loving servant she always was. She was a wife of 44 years to Larry, mother to three grown children (Sean, Leslee, and Wes) and a grandmother of eight (Emily, Christopher, Carly, Samara, Grace, Josiah, Hannah and Lindsay). She has always been like a mother to me and I will truly miss her.

I can say from the bottom of my heart thank you to each one if you who have reached out to Leslee and her family during this difficult time. Whether it was food, money, prayers, a kind word or email, it will never be forgotten.

There will be two services for her mother, one in Lafayette, Georgia and one here in Hendersonville. As soon as I have details about that, I will let you know as you may want to support Leslee.

Thank you again!!

Jennifer


I guess that God did stop what was happening to Leslee's Mama.

But not in the way i wanted Him to stop it.

It works like that sometimes, doesn't it?

But i hate this. I hate that cancer has taken away Leslee's Mama. I know, i know, Leslee's Mama is in heaven, she's not sick anymore, and she's with God. I know.

Really, i do know this.

I know that her 'work' on earth as God's servant is complete and she's where God wants her to be.

But what about the rest of us?

Okay, mainly me at this moment....

I want her here.

I want Leslee's Mama here on earth with her family.

I sound amazingly like a four year old, don't i?

This family has lost a beloved mother, a wonderful wife, and a loving grandma. Friends who count on Leslee's Mama have lost an amazing friend. The church that Leslee's Mama attends has lost an amazing woman who loved God with all her heart.

I want to be encouraging to Leslee, but my heart, well, screams of things that are not so encouraging, like:

~The pain of loosing your mother does NOT go away. You just learn to deal with it a little better.

~You will ALWAYS wonder: "What would my Mama think/do/say about this?"

~Holiday, birthdays, and seasons are never the same. They are forever different, as is your life without her....because no one can take her place.

~You're going to get angry about loosing your Mama. Really, really angry. I got scary angry. And sometimes, i'm still angry. (I'm sure that may not be true for everyone, but.....well, anger happens to many who loose loved ones.)

~You won't believe that you can miss someone like you miss your Mama.

~You wish for one more, just one more, hug from her.

These aren't the things to say to someone that has just lost their Mama and i know this. None of these things should be said.

I try very hard to understand "God's will" and "God's plan". I don't understand. And maybe, i'm not suppose to understand or figure it out. I guess that i'll just have to work on thinking about that for a bit more as i struggle with that.

I am grateful, though, that Leslee had such an amazing mother. It has, i'm sure, shaped Leslee into the woman that i admire so much today. Leslee will pass on the goodness, love of the Lord, and all the gifts that her mother gave to her to HER children.

And so the legacy of Leslee's Mama will live on...

...as God has planned.

So much.....

....to go back and catch up on. I've taken a bit of a break from blogging to let certain things and recent events sink in, so i have lots to blog about and photos to put up and things to finish up.

Life, it seems, neither slows down or stops when things happen that you need to think about. The urge to stay in bed and pull the covers up to my chin has been a strong urge lately, but being the mother of a four year old doesn't lend well to that urge. And that may be a very good thing, otherwise, i'm sure that's where i would be.

Thank goodness for post-dating your thoughts, eh?

Back later...