Over and Over Again

I grew up in a home where my mother froze and canned fruit and vegetables for us to enjoy throughout the year. Though I never helped with this process while living at home, I did get to enjoy the results of my mother’s hard work while I lived there, and afterwards, as I would have the opportunity to visit my parents.

When I was first married and lived in Kentucky, my mom and dad drove from California to visit my husband and me; and while there, she taught me how to can peaches. Even though it was hard work, what a joy it was to see the gleaming jars of the lightly tinted, orangish-colored fruit lining the shelves in the cabinet my husband built specifically to store them.

That was the beginning of my life of canning and freezing. I always enjoy the satisfaction that accompanies the hours of working in the kitchen as I look in the freezer, or gaze upon the shelves lined with the colorful fruit and vegetables stored in those jars. And what joy I feel as my family gets to use the preserved food throughout the months ahead.

Well, 52 years later, I’m still involved with this role of preservation. This fall, we came to that time of year here in southern Illinois. Apple trees were producing their tantalizing fruit and visions of glass jars sitting on the shelves filled with applesauce floated lazily through my head. But if I want to turn dreams into reality, I’d better act on the thought and purchase some apples.

In September my husband and I traveled about an hour to a lovely fruit orchard teeming with apples. We bought two bushels of Golden Delicious, two bushels of Jonathans, and one bushel of a new-to-me apple called Ambrosia. The easy part for my husband and me was getting in the car and traveling two hours round trip to pick up our pre-ordered apples—the cheaper version called “seconds.”

The five cardboard boxes full of light green/yellow, red, and a mixture of yellow, pink, and red apples sat on our basement floor—waiting. Waiting for what, you might ask? Waiting for some of them to ripen to be full of sweetness. But most of all, the five boxes of apples were waiting on me.

Waiting for a day when I could begin the lengthy process of turning apples into sauce, and then preserving them in glass jars for future use. Even though the process of making applesauce can be tedious and hard work, what a feeling of satisfaction I have when the apples have been changed into sauce and beckon me to come and enjoy.

Applesauce—great on waffles and pancakes, and even peanut butter toast. I like to add applesauce in recipes, when applicable, to replace the oil requested in the ingredients list. In the end, the hard work pays off with delicious eating.

As some of the apples ripened a bit more, and some moved past the stage of using, I knew I had to jump in and begin the process. No more delay.

What a marathon it was, but the canning applesauce journey is now completed and it’s up to us to enjoy of delicious flavors of the sauce. It took work to get to this point, but what a treat each time applesauce is on the menu.

As our supply dwindles in the months ahead, the ritual starts over again to replenish what was enjoyed with the eating. It’s a satisfying, repeating cycle—over and over again.

As you know, God does the same for us. Over and over again, He provides for us. The sun continues to shine by day, and the moon by night. The birds sing day after day, the rain falls, and there is harvest time. How about God’s mercies that are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22–23), His amazing grace (John 1:16–17), and His strength (Isaiah 40:10)?

I know it must bring God satisfaction as He gives so generously to provide for our needs. Thank you, Lord! We are blessed over and over again with Your goodness!