Broken Glass

Today I was grabbing something out of the cupboard and knocked a glass jar of pasta sauce on the floor. Glass objects and our concrete kitchen floor do not make a good combination. Sauce and glass went all over the place. There must have been a thousand shards of broken glass on the floor. In an instant, the place where I was walking barefoot so carelessly just an hour before was now a danger zone.

It took about 20 minutes to clean up the mess. By the time I was done, the sauce that had splattered on my feet had dried. I grabbed a paper towel, dabbed it in some water and blotted the sauce. It was stuck on my skin. I then did what only made sense at the time. I added some elbow grease and started scrubbing vigorously to get the sauce off. I was in a hurry and needed to get cleaned up fast. Pain radiated all over my foot. “Ouch. I must have rubbed a nerve or something,” I thought to myself. Five minutes later, my foot still hurt and when I looked down at it, blood was everywhere.

Apparently I had broken glass on my foot and had pushed it into my foot while scrubbing. It hurt. Thankfully, it’s not too bad and I won’t need stitches or any medical attention. My pride is probably more wounded than anything. I felt pretty stupid for not being more careful. How did I manage to make a bad situation worse, or yet even painful?!


As I cleaned the broken glass and red sauce from the floor, I couldn’t get over what a mess I had on my hands. I realized that no matter how good I cleaned, I would no doubt miss a piece here or there. I’m sure I’ll be finding missed pieces for a while. It wasn’t the easiest mess to clean up. I found myself thinking about what a mess we are at times, and how the Lord manages to clean up our mess. This is all if we allow Him to. He can pick up the pieces and put things back together in a way that is sometimes better than it was before. Again, if we allow Him to. He doesn’t miss any pieces and doesn’t throw the broken mess in the garbage either. If and only if we allow Him to. Oh, the pain we would avoid if we trusted Him and let Him do the work. What brokeness could you hand over to Him to fix? What mess is in front of you that you could use His help? Allow Him to help. He wants to lend a hand.

Canning

My family is going through the difficult job of sorting through my Grandmother’s belongings. Unfortunately, they are doing all the work since I am not nearby to help. While visiting back home, I spent a couple hours helping in the effort of going through things. Grandma had a house full of things, most of which each hold a memory or two.

In an almost hidden storage place in the basement, we found what seemed to be a storehouse of mason jars for canning food. It instantly brought back memories of my grandmothers on both sides canning when I was a little girl.

Canning is something I have never attempted on my own. I’ll be honest, I was a little intimidated by it for some reason. However, I decided today that I would try following in the footsteps of my Grandmothers’ legacy.

Here is the result of my first attempt. I canned carrots, green beans, and homemade applesauce. I also cooked a big pot of corn on the cob. I shaved it off with an electric knife, and put it in freezer bags in the freezer. I have to admit, it was easier than I was expected. In fact, I found it enjoyable and almost therapeutic. Has that feeling been passed down from generations of canning women in my family? Maybe!

Sometimes you try new things and it doesn’t go so well. This time, it did. I’m already thinking of other foods to try next time. What’s something you have been thinking about trying but are a little timid? Give it a shot. Maybe you will be pleasantly surprised!