“Mom, can I make jello?”
That was the question Miranda asked me at 9:15 p.m. I was already in bed reading a book until my eyes grew heavy. They were almost there.
She had asked for a bedtime snack a few minutes before I crashed. I suggested popcorn. She didn’t like the kettle corn I had on hand. I suggested cereal. The pantry was devoid of her favorite kind.
Toast? “I already had that today.”
Apple, orange, banana? “Naw.”
That was enough suggestions on my part; she’d figure something out if she was truly hungry.
And that’s when the jello question came. Seriously? Jello? At 9:15 at night? “This is another one of those tests, isn’t it Lord?” I thought.
Actually, I had lots of thoughts. They ranged from no mom in her right mind would let her kid eat jello right before bed to the girl has got to learn how to be more proficient in the kitchen, let her make it.
“Sure,” I said, as I tried to comprehend the sentence I’d just read for the third time.
The questions started: “What bowl should I use?”
“The big white one in the cupboard above the toaster,” I replied.
Ten seconds later: “It says I need two cups of boiling water, what pot should I use?”
Oh man, I have really failed in the mom department. What 11-year-old doesn’t know how to make jello? Just get up Rita. Show her how to do it — don’t do it for her, like you’re used to doing.
The Lord nudged me to do the right thing. I knew in that moment that if I just gave a little more of myself for Miranda he would supply the grace and I’d be able to crawl back into bed quicker.
This has always been the way of the Lord in my life. He asks a little bit more than I think I can give.
He pushes me beyond my limits. I think he does this to show me how much I need him. How much more I need to grow. He does this to show me that none of the good I do is actually my own work at all, but him working through me. He just asks me to trust in him, choose his will, and accept his grace to do it.
Lord, help me to live in complete dependence on you, seeking to do your will in both the big and little things in my life. Help me pay attention to those little nudges.
Raspberry jello anyone? She — successfully — made a big bowlful!
Rita Meyer is married and the mother of four children. She and her family are members of St. John the Baptist Parish in Meire Grove. Email her at ritameyer@meltel.net.