I’m sure you are all as aware as I am that this month marks 6 months since our lives changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I have spent a lot of time during these past 6 months reflecting on life, and on the people who have blessed me and have made an impact on my life over the years. One of those people is my Aunt, Ann. She has always been very special to me and she is a beautiful person inside and out. I know that I can tell her anything that’s on my heart and she will listen and encourage me.
When I first moved to Minneapolis after graduating High School, Ann and her family were the only family I had here, and they would sometimes invite me over for dinner knowing that I was lonely and missing home. I used to go to the doctor very near her house in South Minneapolis and I would stop by after almost every appointment for a visit. One day when I was overdue with our 2nd son, I was told that he was breach and they would have to schedule a C-Section. I was devastated and filled with fear. The minute I left the doctor’s office I began to cry. When we arrived at my Aunt’s house, I made my husband drive around the block several times while I tried to compose myself and stop crying. To no avail, because the minute I got in her house and she hugged me, the tears came again. She immediately sat down with me next to her and rocked me back and forth and reassured me that it would be ok. And it was… Somehow the baby turned on his own and was born 2 weeks later, on my Grandma Belva’s birthday.
My Aunt Ann is a very talented woman who sews, quilts, gardens, crafts, cooks and bakes, makes amazing Lefse, and is very active in her church and her small town. She lives in the home that used to belong to her husband’s parents. She tragically lost her husband, John in an automobile accident just weeks before she retired and moved up there from Minneapolis. She has a very large yard with beautiful gardens and trees filled with many species of birds that she constantly feeds. She has had MS for over 25 years which sometimes slows her down, but she doesn’t let it stop her from doing the things she loves.
August 16, 2020 was my Aunt Ann’s 77th birthday. Because she is so special to me, that morning, Covid or no Covid, I got up at 6am and headed out on my 2 1/2 drive home to visit her. This was an especially important day to be with Ann because my Grandma Belva, Ann’s mother, died on her birthday 10 years ago. We had a wonderful visit sitting outside on her deck surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation, talking and sharing.
Many of you know that I like to bake, and especially at Christmas time. I typically take the first week of December off to bake batch after batch of my family’s favorite holiday cookies. One of the cookies I always make is the most amazing Gingersnap recipe. They are soft and chewy and melt in your mouth. It is my Aunt Ann’s recipe that she gave to me shortly after I got married. Every year I take out that old recipe card which was handwritten by her and is now covered with spilled ingredients. The recipe has faded so I can hardly read it, but as I mix up the dough, I look at that card and reflect on our relationship, how very special she is to me, and how she has blessed my life, and I give thanks to God for her. While Covid has certainly changed our lives, it cannot take away our blessings and our special memories.
Dear God,
Thank you for the people and the blessings you have put in our lives. Forgive us for the times when we are filled with doubt and fear. Lord, we are becoming weary from this Covid Pandemic, and yet, we feel blessed to be healthy and have healthy families. We pray especially for those who haven’t been so fortunate and have lost loved ones. We need your strength in the days to come until a vaccine can be found and Covid is no longer, and we can again re-connect with friends, family and acquaintances safely.
In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!
