This weekend, my family will gather to celebrate my daughter’s birthday. Earlier this week, I pulled out the little cookbook, the one nearly as old as she is, with that pumpkin cupcake recipe that has come to mark her special day. The book fell open to that page. Stains from other years mark decades of use.
I thought of times I had made these cupcakes for school parties, church events, and these family gatherings.
I tweaked the recipe to include butter instead of margarine and with chocolate chips to make it my own. When they’re done, I coat them in store-bought icing with added red and yellow food coloring to make orange.
The children and some of the grandchildren are convinced that the color somehow adds flavor. “It tastes different,” they say.
Perhaps it is the savor of tradition and memory.
A series of autumns, seasons of life spinning past. Snapshots march through my mind of babies in high chairs, then booster seats. Time waltzed us through their teen years, their weddings, the births of their own young ones. And we wait with one of the young ones waiting for his second child.
Now there are new birthdays with new recipes and new traditions.
I think of my children’s laughter, how it is the most resplendent music to a parent’s ear, and the passage of time does not diminish its beauty. How it doesn’t matter how old your children are, you still feel joy when they laugh.
We get a picture of heaven as we sit around a table with our children, with their children (and their children) nearby. We listen to the laughter, the chatter, even the arguments. There are vignettes that exist in our memories, our conversations, those snapshots of our minds unfolding as we march toward eternity.
It occurs to me that God feels joy when His children laugh. When my friends and I were young mothers, older, wiser ones would warn us that as our children grew, so would their troubles. As we feel joy when they laugh, we also hurt when they hurt. And so does God. When we hurt, He hurts for us.
I cannot make heaven on earth because earth’s purpose is to prepare me for heaven.
The next season coming up is the one when we remember that God came to dwell with us. He was a stranger to earth. So are we.
In his book Heaven, Randy Alcorn quotes C.S. Lewis; “I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the same” (456).
We are not there yet, but for His followers, there is joy in laughter and redemption of all our pains.
These are “Sweet” memories of yours that bring a smile to my face thinking of the joy of laughing children (and “grands”) and the joy I have to look forward to in heaven.
Thank you, Beth. Much joy–here and to come. God bless!
This is beautiful, Nancy! This morning, driving my kids to school, we were thanking God for the little things in life, like the fact that we see horses frolicking in a field on our drive every day, or the gorgeous sunrise He brings us. Cupcakes are another one of those little pleasures and all are blessings from the Lord!
Thank you, Jessica. So happy that your kids are experiencing gratitude. The little things in life can make everything so rich. God bless!
Love the thought, “savor of tradition and memory.” Those pumpkin cupcakes sound amazing. I love most all pumpkin desserts. My husband only wants pumpkin pie (how boring.) He won’t try cupcakes, breads, scones, doughnuts…nothing. He’s missing out. Thankful for your sweet traditions and memories. Happy birthday to your daughter!
We celebrated last evening, with Alice in Wonderland decorations and a beautiful hatter-hat cake to accompany my homemade cupcakes. A new set of family time memories. Sorry for your husband. Thanks, Karen, and God bless!
Beautiful memories can bring smiles. I enjoy thinking of precious times shared with family and friends.
So wonderful to look back on the snapshots and moments in our memories. Thanks, Melissa, and God bless!
This is a wonderful memory of your cupcake tradition. It is so important for us to create memories. I do think God enjoys seeing us laugh and smile.
It is so important to create memories. Thanks, Yvonne; God bless!
“God feels joy when His children laugh.” I love that picture.
I love to hear my children laugh. And when my grandchildren laugh, I tell their parents that it’s the most wonderful sound they’ll ever hear. Thanks, Linda, and God bless!
I love to remember the sweet moments of raising my kids and now the remaking of memories with my grown children and their growing families. Yes, the best is yet to come as we dine with our Father in heaven; what a beautiful picture of that day to come.
Thank you, Marcie. Life is filled with seasons, each one with its own beauty. God bless!
I wouldn’t mind one of those cupcakes, but even better is our Savior whose birth we celebrate in a couple months. And our hope of our eternal home in Heaven – how great is that!
Great, indeed, beyond our capabilities to express in words. Thanks, Stephen, and God bless!