Gloria’s Old-Fashioned Butterscotch Christmas Candy.
Submitted photo
It’s a common day with ordinary food, ordinary people, and ordinary situations. Ordinary for me is talking with little people, setting food on the table, giving hugs, wiping wet kisses, and channeling hearts from sunrise to sunset.
Isn’t it amazing- we all have our own set of “ordinary?” I always tell the children when they feel shy about meeting new people,”Those are ordinary people just like us, we just didn’t get to talk with them yet!”
Then too, the “ordinary” people in our lives don’t give them a title of less than ideal. Why the people in my life who are the most precious to me are those I consider a part of my ordinary life!
Looking back, the years spent with Daniel I realize that common days at home were some of the best.
Take this, an 82 year-old gentleman from Michigan whose wife passed this summer stopped by our house this week. What do you think his advice was? First take a moment with me to imagine the sadness he’s facing since losing his spouse after 60 years of marriage. His life has changed drastically, and his house is quiet and empty as he misses his sweet wife. Without him verbalizing it, I could tell he misses her every moment of every day.
Raising his work-weathered hand, he said, “We can choose to make every day the best day of our life.”
As he rose to leave, he repeated, “You can make this day the best day of your life.”
Long after that horse and open wagon with him and his son and family had gone out the driveway I kept pondering. All excuses of hard or unfair situations shriveled as I realized today is my opportunity to allow God to use this day as He pleased.
Perhaps ordinary is okay after all, even if it does not look like I thought it would with Daniel fathering his rapidly growing children. Ordinary, when chosen by God, is perfect and complete. When the details of our normal days are orchestrated by Him, the end result will bring joy and peace.
I am the first to confess that there are days and I cannot feel that closeness with the One who gave this new set of ordinary. These are the times I simply claim his grace to carry me through.
Ever since I was a young girl I had this mini sticky note where I penned the words, “In the tears of His saints God sees a rainbow.”
Today I look at it. It’s an ordinary day at home, but that’s okay; it’s where I’ve been placed, so it’s where I’ll be and in each tear God sees a rainbow.
What does ordinary spell to you as an individual? Pain, frustration, despair, broken dreams, or perhaps joy and happiness? Regardless what you’ll check off, God knows. Tell Him about it. He’ll listen to it all, and if you choose to give it to Him, He’ll take it from you and replace it with His perfect gift. Recently when one of the boys were going through hard times I explained in a very simple way that every time we give something to God He places it in His keepsake box and re-wraps it into something better than we ever imagined and give it back to us. Since that we put things in God’s ‘keepsake box’ and trust that in His time He’ll heal, restore, and re-wrap.
Okay, now take a moment to and grab a box of ordinary graham or saltine crackers and end up with this most delicious candy!
OLD-FASHIONED BUTTERSCOTCH CHRISTMAS CANDY
· Saltines or graham crackers
· 1 cup butter (for crunchier crackers, use only ½ cup)
· 1 cup brown sugar
· 1 ½ cups chocolate chips
Put a single layer of saltine or graham crackers side by side (with 4 sides touching one another) on a 10 by 15-inch rimmed cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper.
Bring butter and brown sugar to a rolling boil. Boil for three minutes.
Spread mixture on top of crackers.
Preheat oven to 400 degree.
Bake crackers with sauce, for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and immediately sprinkle with 1 1 /2 cups chocolate chips. Let set three minutes and then spread melted chips over with a butter knife. Cool and break into sized pieces of your choice.
Gloria Yoder is an Amish mom, writer, and homemaker in rural Illinois. The Yoders travel primarily by horse-drawn buggy and live next to the settlement’s one-room school-house. Readers can write to Gloria at 10510 E. 350th Ave., Flat Rock, IL 62427.
