I remember the last time I packed my stuff up. Leaving my apartment in June of 2015 to move in with a dear friend before I made my trek back to California to help take care of my mom. I remember packing my kitchen and sorting through all of my cookbooks as I stacked them neatly in their new home for the foreseeable future. I grabbed the worn Better Homes & Garden cookbook and smiled. I had asked my mom some years ago if I could have the cookbook she once used to make meals for my Dad and I. I'm not sure if the remembrance of us being a family or my desire for one had contributed to asking her for that. Or if one day I wanted a piece of her, a memory of another time. As I stood there I thought about my future and I prayed that maybe one day God would allow me the opportunity to use that cookbook with my own family and one day maybe my husband and I would pour over the recipes.
This last Saturday I turned 32. My amazing boyfriend Brad spoiled me with a series of thoughtful presents and even a homemade card. I got to the last of my presents and he said these ones are just extras, nothing big and exciting. As I tore the paper off and stared at the book he simply said "Every home and every family needs a cookbook." I could feel the tears welling up. I looked up at him as they continued to pour down my face and he simply asked do you hate it? With the puzzled and panic look on his face.
What was sitting in my lap was the 16th edition of the cookbook I had prayed over just a few short years ago. As I packed up my stuff and hoped and prayed that God would do only what He could do with my dreams and prayers, He was In His own time, in His own way. Everytime my eye catches the cookbook I am reminded of His grace and love and mercy. That even when we least expect it he provides us with reminders that His fairytales are worth waiting for.
