Even God Favored My Mom’s Gravy!

Growing up I recall how much I loved Saturdays at our house. It was the day my mom spent hours making her signature sauce, or as we all called it gravy, for our Sunday meal.

 The gravy had a unique pleasing aroma which permeated the entire house tormenting and teasing the taste buds of all those within its range.  The swiftly moving scents were easily recognized, making all in the house stop and reflect.

 The scent rose from fresh tomatoes or canned San Marzano brand. In the summer, those tomatoes grew solely in our backyard garden. The blend of garlic, pure virgin olive oil, and fresh onions resting on the stoves’ low flame burner soon filled every room in the house. The scent had a special way of grabbing everyone’s attention causing different and distinct memories.

 My sisters and I were given our Saturday chores.  However, and as we talked about this over the years, the mouthwatering fragrances kept us adrift from our chores with personal reminiscences that the slow boiling pot generated.  

 We heard again my mom’s positive words reminding us that on these Saturdays these aromas swept clean all that went amiss in the previous week and created new paths for new efforts.

 My mom’s gravy tastily told us that God didn’t send Jesus, his son, to earth to condemn, his creation, but rather to forgive and the courage to try again.

 Ushered in by these invigorating scents, this new week’s theme was never give-up but instead, get on with our lives.  My mom’s God was a loving God, and her tasty gravy was filled with that love reinforcing it.

 This cleansing message conveyed the hope that our misstep was now forgotten.  This boiling pot contained God’s permission to try again.  If we caused hurt along the way, that too was forgiven.

 Indeed, this fragrant pot was God’s way of saying: I love you! Now go and sin no more! With this cheerful message blended within mom’s sauce, God was telling us never to give up, but instead keep trying till we get it right.

 Today, we simply need to allow this fragrance to feed and nourish us, because God doesn’t measure our life by our last mistake.

 When we sat down for Sunday dinner, each mouthful renewed us, giving us the strength to do better. Not only because mom was a special cook, but our God loved us and wanted us to realize it. Mom’s pot of gravy cooking on her stove said it all in its cheerfully scented way.

Happiness is not something that comes ready-made.

Instead, it arises from actions that start within!