Today I think of three people who have impacted my life by example. There are many more of you out there, but for today I choose to share these three happenings.
I’m walking in the quiet countryside and meet up with a friend I have not seen for some time. She explains, “We are going to see Daddy at work.” Motioning to her little daughter, the mommy says, “She has something to give to her daddy.” I look at the radiant little face. She holds up a sucker to show the prized gift for Daddy. My heart melts; yes, that is what life is about. The little things we stumble over unless we pause in the moment of life, now, to embrace the hidden treasures that are truly breathtaking. My mind flashed to the days before we had children and how I dreamed of showing them one day how amazing their daddy was. That young three-year-old does not grasp what her mother is instilling in her heart by loving her daughter’s daddy as a hero, though he falls under the category of a human being like all the rest of us! Her daughter is given the richest of gifts, one that will get her off to a sure start in preparing for life and the hard knocks that hit everyone on planet earth. (Mom, thanks for being that example for me!)
Then there’s a friend of mine who has a dear little fellow, less than a year old. He has won his place right into my heart, but there is no one like his mother, who has spent many days and nights with her first infant. One day while chatting with her on the phone I asked if they’d like to come over to our house for supper that evening. Her answer got my attention. “I’ll ask my husband. This week we are only having sandwiches for supper to allow us more time with our son.” I was amazed, to say the least. Why, their son was less than a year old, not even old enough for them to tell him they were doing it all for him! But no, that is not what it was about. It was a dedication to make their son a priority above their own wishes. I can’t help but be excited to watch that boy grow up and thrive, knowing that he is the apple of his parents’ eye.
Lastly, I look back to my childhood days. There was much that life contained. And as a timid little girl, unsure of myself in many ways, my daddy was a rock. Etched in with the best memories of those days is standing next to Daddy in his wood working shop. It was just the two of us. He had set the evening aside to spend time with me. Each of us children would get our turn with spending an evening with him. That night he was making a caddy for my stamps, which I would use when making homemade cards. I knew Daddy was proud of me and I would do anything to please him. Twenty years later he was still my dad; yet he had released me to be Mrs. Yoder. No longer was it Dad who led out in my life; it was him who had given me to Daniel. Even when Dad knew I was facing difficulties, he would step back and allow my primary heart connection to be with my husband. Because of Dad’s leadership throughout my growing-up years, I now had a picture of what it looks like to thrive on following. Thanks, Dad, for allowing God to lead you as you led us children!
Alright, we’ll wind up with a recipe that Daniel, who has impacted my life more deeply than I could ever tell, enjoyed. His face would always light up when he’d come home to find these cookies waiting for him. Though I thrived on making them for him, it has been said that no one can make them quite like his grandma used to. Grandma Hostetler is now 94 years old and is a beautiful example for all of us in her faith in God through it all. My, writing of her makes me miss her even more! I’m eager to see her when we go to Ohio, hopefully sometime during school vacation this fall or winter.
Molasses Crinkle Cookies
3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup sorghum
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 1/4 cups flour
Instructions: Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and sorghum. Blend together well. Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Put 1/2 cup white sugar in a bowl and roll cookies in sugar (rolling in sugar is optional, I don’t just to cut down on sugar intake). Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Don’t over bake. 9. If desired, fill with cream cheese frosting.
Gloria Yoder is an Amish house-wife in rural Illinois. She is the third writer of The Amish Cook column since its inception in 1991. Yoder can be reached by writing: The Amish Cook, P.O. Box 157, Middletown, Ohio 45042.
