With the cooler weather settling in, I have been cooking and baking everyday. I don't know what it is about this time of year that puts me in the mood to bake? Perhaps it is the anticipation of Thanksgiving and all of the scents, tastes and traditions that come with this meaningful holiday. It might be the joy of the grand kick-off of the holiday season with the start of Thanksgiving. It could be the cooler weather and shorter days... but I think deep down in my heart, I know the reason. I believe that I am speaking for all of the chefs, bakers, cooks and foodies of the world when I say that we all eagerly await baking and cooking during the arrival of the Fall and Winter months. We feel this excitement during this time of year because we all have warm, comforting and soft, fond memories associated with the aromas and essence of a slice of pumpkin pie or how about a taste of homemade banana bread? I know for me, it is the smell... oh but most of all the taste of my Grandmother's and mother's Mexican Wedding cookies that brings about these fond Christmas memories from my childhood! I have wonderful memories of my mother standing at our kitchen counter on Christmas Eve making these delightful little snowy white treats. I can recall my mother making these cookies on happy Christmas Eve's, when the whole family was all together and on one particularly sad Christmas Eve, when my Grandma Vera had just passed away a month earlier in November. Either way, my dear mama made sure to make these traditional cookies for our family. She provided me with a service that was so much more than a fleeting cookie treat, she was teaching me the meaning of serving those you love and putting my needs before her own.
Save A Trip To The Store
... Just walk to your door! It was true! My earliest memory of the Helms man goes back to 1958. If memory serve me correctly, the Helms man drove a cream and blue-colored, Chevy Panel Truck. It was about a 1949-1950 vintage. He drove this big and shiny, well-waxed coach, up and down our neighborhood streets. If you needed him, he would park his truck right in front of your house.
Nothing could ever emulate the aroma that came out of the Helms coach when the Helms man would slide open the drawers. Those drawers slid out with such ease! You could hear the smooth, ball-bearing sound of the drawers gliding out to display their delectable treats.
Mom would buy two loaves of whole wheat bread, bran muffins, and three plain doughnuts. The same order for years! You would think I would give up, but for about two years, I asked my mom for a jelly doughnut. They were such beautiful doughnuts! You could see the red jelly oozing out from the sides of the moist and plump, powdered-sugar-dusted doughnuts. My mom would always reply, "The plain ones are healthier." One day, the Helms man asked my mom if he could give me a jelly doughnut. He told her that since she was a regular customer, it was company policy to entitle her to a free jelly doughnut. She agreed and thanked him. He winked at me and said, : "I like em' too!"
Services like the Helms Olympic Bakeries were once an ordinary event, common and usual. Now, I wish children could experience the toot-toot, the smells, the camaraderie, the service, and mostly, the respect! We needed to take the time to interact with each other, to learn each other's names and to celebrate the ordinary!
I still have the blue and gold Helms card that my mom used to place in the window whenever she wanted the Helms man to stop. Even now, when I look at that cardboard sign, I can almost taste raspberry jelly!
The slogan, " A signal for Service" is boldly printed on the bottom of my Helms card. When my daughter was little, she asked me what would happen if she placed the Helms sign in our window. I answered that nothing would happen because the company no longer existed. We now have huge supermarket chains and membership-club shopping in warehouses, as competitors to the small businesses. The Helms coach still exists in my heart! The lesson I learned was that generosity and service are qualities that should never become extinct. This verse comes to mind..
..."Are you a wise and faithful servant of the Lord? Have I given you the task of managing my household, to feed my children day by day? Blessings on you if I return and find you faithfully doing your work. I will put such faithful ones in charge of everything I own."
Matthew 24: 45-47
After reading my mother's story and this scripture from the book of Matthew, I began to think about what it really means to be a faithful servant of the Lord? Wow, what a powerful verse! As a mother, wife and homemaker, I really took this verse and made it personal... I applied it to my own life. I began to ask myself a few questions like, " Am I really a WISE and FAITHFUL servant of the Lord?" I would like to think I am, but am I always so wise and faithful with what all He has given to me? Truthfully... not always. "Has the Lord given to me the task of managing his household and to feed his children day by day?" Yes, He has.
Being a stay at home mother, wife and homemaker was all I ever wanted as a little girl. When I came to that verse, it became so clear to me that yes, the Lord has given me the job of being Richard's wife and Robert, Joseph and Jacob's mother ... I am the homemaker for these four most important men in my life and that is a huge responsibility and gift from the Lord. So then the next big question flooded my mind and my soul... "Am I managing my husband, children and household in a diligent and faithful way? " After truly searching my heart and taking a spiritual inventory, I now see that I have MUCH room for improvement! I often grumble and complain about little things here and there like changing the twenty plus diapers in a day or picking-up left out socks and shoes from Rich and Robbie.
As wives and mothers we are busy!!! Take hope... it's okay to be tired and weary, we are only human. However, I do believe it is the intent, attitude diligence and faithfulness that we show while carrying out the job of wife, mother caregiver and household manager... that the Lord sees!
As a word of encouragement, this scripture also comes to mind.
"When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required." Luke 12:48
I needed to here this story again today and to reflect upon these scriptures. I don't know about you, but we have a very happy, healthy and oh yes... sometimes bossy little three year old in our house who wants to help out and do everything for himself . I am sure he means well, but it can become tiresome to this mama who is also pre-occupied with two newly mobile babies.
Wives and mothers, I encourage you to ask yourself this question this week; "How can I better serve my family and do it onto the Lord?"
"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." Colossians 3:23
"Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people. " Ephesians 6:7
This week, I am going to try to not let my overtired heart and mind be so quick in anger. I am going to be more loving to my family. My dear friend Liz sent this little list to me on Pinterest, and boy oh boy did I need this Liz!! Enjoy friends. :)
For most of you the next week will be filled with countless errands, projects, family, visitors, cooking and cleaning in preparation for Thanksgiving. Let's try to remember and to hold each other accountable to serve unto the Lord. Our husbands only get one wife and our children are only young once, they are deserving of a happy and cheerful home and mommy.
Blessings,
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