LEFTOVERS

8/24/10 Having just a finished supper of grilled chicken and a few fresh veggies with a leftover or two thrown in, I realized how blessed I am to have a hubby who will willingly eat leftovers. However, on occasion he will tease me for saving nothing more than a heaping spoonful to nosh on later. Those leftovers, my friends, are just for me. I might prepare a big meal but often the leftovers are mine alone---maybe they aren’t to Larry’s liking (a mess of turnip greens comes to mind) Those morsels might have taken considerable time to prepare and I can’t bear to throw them out. Sometimes I just want to relish that favorite familiar taste a little longer.
Believe it or not, that scenario is somewhat analogous of both my Bible study teaching/speaking and my blogging.

My April 26 talk at church was like that. I prepared for a long time---wrote recipe-type notes to guide my talk, “stewed” it around in my brain, pared it down several times to a 3 pt. outline and then served it to the audience---some of what I had written and other thoughts that were just “spices” thrown in at the last minute.
Afterwards, hubby asked me why I didn’t explain more in detail about cancer surgeries or tell them about my mouth being sewn shut for weeks on end, etc. He said several women had asked him questions and he wondered why I didn’t give more info. Well…..I didn’t know.

Often I don’t know what I’ll end up saying or for that matter typing. I have often fretted about it thinking that I was somehow missing the boat. But God had a long time BSF leader tell me that all the scripture and thought and prayer that go in to preparation prepares me and the hearts of the listeners, as God intends--what doesn’t get given is the leftovers that are just for me. She reminded me that when Jesus fed the 5,000 with just the 5 loaves and 2 fish, He prayed over it giving thanks and that after it was given to the multitudes, it was the disciples who picked up the broken pieces that were left over. The people got what they needed and the disciples got what they needed. (Matthew 14: 13-21)

I do hope my blog entries are feeding you. However, my journals and blog bytes, which overflow with leftovers---well, those are just for me.