There have been more moments than I care to confess where I have been overwhelmed with emotion: sadness, anticipation, regret, excitement.  You name it, I have felt it.  I have learned that it’s completely possible to miss people already even though you’re still with them.  I have learned that even after two or three years of looking forward to this moment, I’m extremely reluctant to say goodbye.  I have learned that I really, really, really hate goodbyes. (and we haven’t even left yet!) I have also learned (okay, I have known this for, like, my WHOLE life) that I’m not the best at dealing with change.  And so, I turn to the kitchen.
The beauty of cooking is that, for the most part, it’s reliable, predictable.  I know that I can cook up some Italian sausage, chop up an onion, mince garlic, sauté for a bit all together; throw in some tomato stuff and herbs and it always produces the best red sauce you have ever tasted. (recipe/method courtesy of my Iron Chef Mom.  If you have ever sat at her table, you are one of the luckiest.)  I know that, with some flour and egg in hand, I can press out some thin, light pappardelle. Add some boiling water and a willing audience, and you have a meal.  Each time, every time.
Though I can’t control the change around me, I know how to chop an onion.  Although, at times, it seems like I will be overcome by the unknown, I know how hot to sauté garlic before it burns.  And, when I don't know what to say, there is always the table that beckons those to draw near, eat, be loved.
Ultimately, (and because I set off the smoke alarm more often than I would like to admit) however, I am even more thankful for the unchanging One.  The One who, even when life is in upheaval and even when I burn my garlic, buoys my heart and carries us through.  We have an adventure-filled, exciting, and extremely unknown year ahead of us.  How thankful I am that there is One who goes before us.
 
 
 

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