Lifegiving

Last week I was terribly behind in preparing for my 5 Aspects of Woman Bible study class. When I woke up Thursday morning, I hadn't even finished my own lesson, let alone prepared the lesson plan for the class that evening. "Oh Lord," I prayed, "Please give me something to give to the women tonight."

The lesson that evening was to be on "Lifegiver Created." In the chapter I read for the week's Bible study, two things stuck out to me. First, lifegiving is a struggle. Women down through the ages have struggled to bring forth life, from Moses' mother Jochebed, to Hannah the mother of Samuel, to women of the present time.

The other point I picked up on is that lifegiving is not just about having children, but that we as woman lifegive in a myriad of ways, including with the words we say to others. Our words can tear down, or they can build up. I wanted a real life example of a lifegiving woman to present to my class that evening.

As I flipped through Google Reader and my blog list that morning (right after I had sent my arrow prayer to God), I came upon a recipe for pfeffernuesse. My mind started running and I immediately thought of my Great Grandma Katherine. Within five minutes, I had an outline in my head of what I wanted to present that evening. God had been faithful to answer my prayer.

I quickly made the dough for the pfeffernuesse and put it in the freezer to cool (there was not enough time to let it sit in the fridge overnight). I was so thankful to have step by step directions to follow. My old German cook book tends to have directions like, "until it's the consistency of fresh cream," "add enough flour to thicken" and "do not over bake, should be like custard." I remember making pfeffernuesse from that cookbook years ago and being very frustrated with the whole process.

With the pferffernuesse dough safely resting in the freezer, I set to work on finishing my Bible study and lesson plans. I then called my Uncle Keith to confirm what I knew and get more details about my Russian born German great grandmother, Katherine. Later that afternoon I baked the pfeffernuesse and gathered the materials I needed for class.

That evening when the ladies came into the room, our table was set with bowls of pfeffernuesse, an advent wreath and fresh evergreens, a symbol of life. I showed the ladies a picture of my great grandmother and grandfather, George. Then I told them a bit about my grandmother.
When Katherine had a three week old boy and a toddler boy (somewhere between the ages of 1 1/2 to 2 years old), the household was exposed to Diphtheria by a school teacher the family had been boarding. Both of the children contracted the disease and died within days of each other. They were buried in the same grave.

Katherine and George went on to have four more children (a fifth was lost to miscarriage when Grandma slipped on the ice while bringing water into the house). She worked hard on the farm all of her life. Grandma Katherine was well known for her sumptuous meals. I've been inside that old farm house and honestly, the kitchen in so small I'm not sure how she managed to prepare meals for all those people in there, especially with no running water, let alone a dishwasher!

Uncle Keith told me about all the times he went to Grandma's house for lunch. She would lay everything out on the table. My uncle, being a boy, was always ravenous, but Grandma would insist on praying first. "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits," (Psalm 103:1-2) she would pray. Uncle Keith tells me that even now he says that verse to himself every morning as he's exercising.

My Great Grandma Katherine struggled to lifegive. She also gave life to others through her words, passing on eternal truths to her children and grandchildren. As we ladies ended our Bible study, we prayed that we would all become the lifegivers God desires us to be.

For me personally, I struggle to control my tongue, especially in times of extreme busyness and stress. I've prayed every morning this week that I would give life to those around me, particularly through my words. As Christmas approaches, I remember that Jesus was the ultimate Lifegiver, bringing life to me when I was dead in my sins and could do nothing to save myself. I'm so grateful that God the Father saw fit to send His Son, so that He might sacrifice His life in order to save mine.