Kathy and I were guests in a lovely home last evening. We were privileged to eat a big mess*  of ramps, dug and prepared by a gentleman who grew up in Richwood WV, the "Ramp Capital of the World." We had ramps and potatoes, ramps with scrambled eggs, brown beans, bacon, ham, biscuits, and just ramps. All of it was delicious.
A few minutes ago my wife said, "We need to keep some breath mints with us all day." Ramps have staying power. If you eat a bunch of them in their purest form, raw, the odor will work out through the pores of your skin for several days. More than twelve hours later I still have the faint onion/garlic taste of the wild leeks in my mouth.
The "staying power" of ramps, though, is nothing compared to the lasting impact of our host's testimony. His life has been what some would call tragic. Neither his life, nor his home, though, betray any hint that life is hard. Rather both are full of beauty and joy. When we arrived last night we could smell the ramps as soon as we got out of the car. In the same way you can't be around my friend very long before you sense the fruit of the Spirit--"love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). His ongoing interaction with the other guests at last night's Appalachian feast is clear evidence of God's Spirit in him. These Divine qualities work out through the pores of my friend's life, marking not only him, but giving a pleasing aroma to his surroundings..
Lord, give me a life that will suffuse my surroundings with an unmistakable sign that You are present in my life. Amen.
*"Mess of" is a term I've heard all my adult life, here in Covington. It is, in a sense, a unit of measure. "How many beans do you have?" "Enough for a mess." When someone goes to get a mess of something, he has a quantity in mind. It is loosely equivalent to "enough," or "plenty." If you have a "mess of" something, everybody will get their fill and there will, almost surely, be some leftovers.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment