A tale of 3 women and the woman I want to be...

Once upon a time there was a young woman who was a San Franciscan city-girl and after her teen years away, returned to city life for school and a career.  Unexpectedly, she met there a cowboy.  A real cowboy whose hands bore the evidence of years of hard work and his body already the weathered marks of a man whose heart beat for the land and the animals on it.  They fell in love, married and that cowboy moved the city girl to the middle-of-no-where cattle country of Montana to make their start.  Now this city girl who had only cooked with canned chili and boil-a-bag meals found herself miles and miles from a store, with a freezer full of elk and Angus, a milk cow in the barn, and chickens in the yard  And this city girl learned to churn and bake and could whip up quite a meal with nothing at all, because truly they had very little. And she became a cook that that cowboy would rave about for years and years to come.  That city girl is my mother.

And not too far away, just one state over was another young woman who found herself a single mother with a toe-headed toddler who worked hard to ensure there was food on the table, even if they did eat turkey and rice for many a meal.  And this young woman met a man and they had one more small boy and they both worked hard to provide for their family. And to make sure that those two little boys received an education that was deeper than their ABC's and had eternal weight in its content, that mama started her own bread business and would bake away her Thursdays and Fridays to sell her prized goods at the local farmers' market on Saturdays.  And her baked goods became cherished to locals, requested around the region and her boys not only wrote words but learned to write His Word on their hearts.  That flour-dusted mama is my mother-in-law.

And there was yet one more woman, many states away who by God's grace found the man she was to spend her life with at a very young age and they married and were blessed with children soon after.  And this couple worked hard so that the mama could stay home with her children always and on one salary they fed eight children, four of which were very hungry boys.  And there are stories of how this mama stretched butter and sneaked lentils into some  most meals but her hard-working husband and children were never hungry. Now this kind woman already had eight children but decades ago I adopted her because truly, a girl can never have too many great women in her life and really, if you have eight children, why not have nine? That mother of nine is mine in spirit.

Each mother is mine by grace.

Now these three woman lived different lives, in different states but had the greatest thing in common.  On each woman's heart was written the mark of her Father and though it wasn't always easy, she listened when the Lord whispered

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,  yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. ~ Matthew 6:25-34

I am humbled by my mothers' perseverance, their hard work, their trust. You see the closest my knight and I have come to poor was one day just after Hurricane Katrina when women from another religion came knocking at the door of our little first home on a street more "miss" than "hit."  In their leather and diamonds they came to tell us that God loves the poor. And it wasn't until they left that my husband and I turned to each other and laughed with realization, "They think we're the poor!"  Didn't they know I had a beef-stocked freezer from my father just like my mother did at my age?

So in the world's eyes, and in ours, we are far from poor but the economy is changing and regardless I am called to look well to the ways of my household. And on days like today when my husband forwards me this article from the Wall street Journal I am reminded  that even the cost of food rising is in our Father's hands.  While He holds tomorrow, I am still called to be a good steward of today.  I realize that I have been given much, especially by my three mothers as they have lavished me with pearls, pearls of wisdom that can help me steward my days. It's time for me to take their wisdom and my husbands encouragement seriously.

Last week I had the privilege of sharing some meal planning tips at a Titus 2 evening with women at our church.  In the days to come, I hope to share a few pearls with you; there is so much to share--gardening, weekly menus, long term food storage, so very many pearls! Please feel free to share your tips and secrets as well.  And like my mothers-three and the many faithful women who have gone before us, we can help one another look well to the ways of our households.