I see her in my youngest child who loves to help out and clean up. Jing Jing always had her by her side to help do the laundry by ‘helping’ to carry the laundry basket to the washer. Jing Jing included her in so many of her chores around the house while I was home-schooling the older kids. This is a blessing because now she wants to help me with every task in my day. (Jesus, please help her to keep that servant heart.)
I think of her when Mom is asking for meal suggestions and all the kids beg for chicken adobo and pancit. (I need to get making some of that soon… but my cookbook with the recipe is still buried in storage.) Maybe that will be the first meal I cook when we finally move into the parsonage.
I miss her when I am sorting and cleaning up the ever-present chaos. This is when we seemed to have our best conversations, when we were working side by side at some mindless task, mom to mom, friend to friend, pastor’s wife to pastor’s wife (Did I mention her husband is a pastor?), Christian sister to Christian sister. Of course, often, it was more venting my complaints and her sharing her years of wisdom of working with other missionary wives and how they handled certain situations but she did it with discretion and never gossiped.
I miss cooking with her.
I miss hearing her singing and humming in the next room while she worked. She is the very epitome of Colossians 3: 15~17 Which says, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
and
Ephesians 5:18~19 …but be filled with the Spirit; 19Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
My husband misses her chocolate chip oatmeal cookies …and so do the kids.
I miss folding clothes with her. (I miss folding clothes and chatting with her current employer too.)
I am thankful that God provided her a familiar family to work for. God is faithful that way. He is always meeting the needs of his children in every situation, all the way around the world, in every place where his children sojourn, because none of us are really home until we meet him face to face.
