Vegetable Soup

I don't normally write about cooking, although it is something I love to do. Monday mornings seem to be a day to clean out the refrigerator, make something delicious from all the little odd leftovers from the weekend. And some days the combinations even work! This morning I found two celery stalks, several orphaned carrots and two lonely leeks, With a little olive oil and a few garlic cloves, I knew I was on to something. Looking further I found a container of half-used tomato paste, two containers of beef broth and the piece de résistance, two leftover meaty short ribs from Saturday night dinner. A little herbs, salt and pepper and time to simmer, the chopped up tidbits have yielded  something tasty for dinner.

Maybe it's because I grew up with a mother who could take a little of this, a little of that, and turn it into something wonderful. Maybe it's because she moved a lot with a military husband and could set up housekeeping with a few things a  lot of creativity. Nonetheless, she had a knack for it.

I like to think I am like my mother. I haven't had to move very often, but I do like a new look, a change in my surroundings. My husband is always suspicious when he returns from out of town, fearful he won't recognize his own home. And I didn't disappoint him this past week.

I have been saying - whining -  for some time, "I want my own office - just a little space where I can think and write, research and read, ponder and plan." It made perfect sense to me to turn one of our unused bedrooms into just that space. Light pours in. Soft green walls welcome. All my books can live together in harmony with files and unpublished manuscripts. In my disarray of unfinished projects,I feel so at home, so together, so satisfied.

I hardly had to purchase a thing. An abandoned desk from one daughter. Bookcases from days of playrooms and toy shelves. Chairs reclaimed and slipcovered years ago. Decorative plates collected by another daughter and hung around gift crosses. All came together so effortlessly (well, moving the desk up two flights of stairs was a bit challenging). The more I changed, the more excited I became. It was as though the little green room was waiting to be transformed and used in a new, fresh way.

Transformation always requires movement.

Whether moving around furniture to create a new space, combining vegetables  to make soup, or rethinking how we should live our lives - transformation asks something of us. Can I visualize the change? What resources are readily available? Can I buckle down and do the work that change requires? Can I persevere? Will I succeed?

I write this blog as a healing journey of faith. I am learning that as I heal, I can write about making soup. I can write about rearranging some space in my home. Somehow it all fits into the journey of transformation in our lives. Scripture says God is making everything new (Rev 21:5). We are a work in process.Why not help out?

Where can the evidence of transformation be seen in your life?