Thursday, April 26, 2012

Silly Waffle Talk

Last weekend Mustache Man had an opportunity to spend some time with some youth from Hosea. He was so excited that he invited them over for breakfast. Ordinarily I would have been stoked, I mean it's the combination of two of my favorite things, community and food. 

However, Saturdays mornings now begin with a checklist that starts when my alarm sounds at 6:30AM!  I have recently begun an 8 AM training/study/accountability/everything else group in order to volunteer with Hope Ranch Ministries (please check it out http://hope-ranch-ministries.com/). Also, I must confess, I love to start with an early morning run. So, needless to say, I was bit stressed about how I was going to fit a breakfast/quality time into this routine. 

To top it all off, Mustache Man didn't arrive home (he had taken the same youth to a conference) until 11 PM. I asked what we would be cooking and he said our guests really like waffles. Awesome. I like waffles too. Except, we don't have a waffle iron! It was at this point that I decided it was probably best for me just to go to bed. And, despite his disgust for Wal-Mart, Mustache Man, made a trip to purchase a waffle iron. 

I didn't do my early morning run. I was bummed. But there was no time for that. When our friends arrived we all sat down to have a nice breakfast and enjoy each other's company. Our young friends shared some stories about living under different bridges with their families and how just 5 months ago they were able to find steady housing. I was so encouraged and challenged by their stories of resilience. 

We had two, cold waffles left. But my sweet friends had already endured so much. At the very least, they deserved fresh, hot, waffles. I offered to cook more. I was immediately confronted with my Western world mindset, as I was questioned about what would happened to the "cold waffles." To which I responded with a lie..."they will be my mid-morning snack," knowing that they would not be touched again until mold started to appear. 

My heart sank. Was I really that wasteful? Am I really one of those people I judge the most? After our "Mending the Soul" group I came back into our apartment to see those dang waffles still sitting there, daring me to eat them. I promise I tried to eat them, but they were gross and cold, so I just threw them away. I then took an inventory of the food in the fridge and the cabinets and just noted how blessed I am. It's funny how weekly I buy "needed" groceries, even though I have still have so much food. Why do I require so much just to throw it away? I can't stop thinking about not our brothers and sisters on the street and faces from those in Africa and Mexico. I'm sure they would have eaten the stupid waffles. 

-Freckles


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