Sunday Reflections – Hymns & Soup

Today felt like a very nostalgic day.  There were two nods to my childhood that lead me down memory lane today, so I thought I’d share them with you.

I grew up going to church.  As a child, we attended the Emmanuel Christian Reformed Church in New Glasgow.   It is no longer still going, it closed down when I was 15 or so.  But my childhood is steeped with memories from Sundays spent there.

I learned about the reverence of God, I learned the basis my faith, and so much more.  There was something to be said for the familiarity with which the services were done.  Some of those things are so ingrained in my being that even today I could recite the Apostle’s Creed or sing ‘From Whom all Blessings Flow”.  I can tell you which pew we sat in and what order my family sat.  Dawn against the wall, me seated between Dawn and Mom, Dad beside Mom and Steve on the far side of Dad.  When the sermon started, we’d pass along the peppermints.  That’s how it was, week after week, year after year.

We sang hymns every week.  And that’s what stirred a memory today.  At the church we attend now, Trenton Church of the Nazarene, we don’t sing hymns often.  Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy our music, but when one of my favourite hymns gets played, I love it very much.  This morning, it was ‘My Jesus, I love Thee’ and the memories flooded back.  I may not have this 100% correct, but I think that way back in the day, I sang this during a service with my friend Sarah, her sister and brother and my sister, Dawn.  I think maybe Sarah’s mom sang with us, too, like I said, I’m not 100% on it all anymore.

It is one of my favourite hymns.  When the girls were little and I would sing to them at bedtime, this was one I always included.  It has such strong connections to my childhood. And maybe that’s why I was feeling nostalgic today and our noon day meal brought me back, too.

Soup.

We had soup for lunch.  Soup is common meal, right? What’s so special about soup? Sunday soup was a frequent meal if we were having company after church.  Or if we went to friend’s house after church.  It’s the perfect make-ahead meal.  Don’t get me started on Dunnewold soup, that’s a whole other thing! Yum!!

Anyway, we were having company over for lunch today, Janice and her crew.  So I made soup and lots of it.  And sitting around the packed table, chairs drug in from the studio and all the leaves in the table, it felt like a Sunday from my childhood. Except, now, I’m the mom, the maker of the soup.  And it was exactly what we all needed.  The comfort and hominess of it all was lovely.

The kids went out to sled and the parents sat around talking about any number of things with a warm cup of coffee in hand.  I’m just realizing now as I type this how my childhood is being carried on in the lives of my children.  Is this how my parents felt when it was them sitting with the coffee and it was me heading out to the closest hill?  Did Mom worry about how she was going to arrange everyone around the table or if the soup had enough flavour?  As the children, we were carefree and oblivious to all that but now I wonder if Mom felt that same way I did as I prepared to open our home to our dear friends?

Today was a good day.  I felt connected in a way I haven’t felt in a while.  And for that, I am so thankful.

Colourfully yours,

Lori

 PS Photo credit to Janice ☺️