Labour of Love

Being a parent is definitely a labour of love. There are moments when you want to tear your hair out or run away and hide for a few weeks. Then there are others that melt your heart, when you get an extra big squeeze in a cuddle or like earlier this evening, when the girls were curled up in bed reading and giggling together.

It's hard work and there are ups and downs not just daily but hourly. It is definitely labour intensive ... but bringing up my girls (with Mark), is probably the most rewarding thing that I think I will ever do in my life. Our parents did it for us (thank you very much, by the way) and now we're doing it for our munchkins.

It's not just being a parent that falls in that category though. Having a husband/wife is similar. Making a good marriage requires constant hard work, on good days and bad ... 'for as long as we both shall live'!

Some friendships are also a labour of love. 

I have been blessed with some really good friends all over the world. Many of which have lasted for years without us actually being able to meet up face-to-face ... but when we do get together, we can pick up wherever we left off with no trouble at all and have a great time. There are other people who cross my path, who for one reason or another I don't click with naturally and the relationship just requires a lot of hard work. 

It may be that God has put them in my life for me to learn something from them, to grow my own character, to gain patience or a deeper understanding of how to love ... or something else. It may be that God has put them in my life for me just to be there to help them, to listen, to guide, to encourage ... for a season.

In those situations, on a good day, it is easier to see the bigger picture and be the person God wants me to be. On a bad day, when I'm tired, busy, frustrated ... it becomes all the more challenging. 

I don't think it is uncommon for anyone to have at least a couple of these friendships in their lives, I know I have. While I would like to report that I'm always a model Christian, gracious and understanding, there are times that that is so totally far from the truth (at least on the inside!) ... and I need to pray for wisdom in how to be a better friend to them. 

I'm choosing to learn from the more difficult friendships in my life right now, rather than avoid them (because there is always likely to be another one just round the corner), as well revelling in my good friendships to get the balance. It is something that I hope I will be able to model to the girls in time ... but we're all only human and unfortunately I know there will be times when we will get it wrong too!

The Lull before the Storm

These last six months in the States were always going to be slightly crazy! From June onwards, I had a check-list of how things would run ...

• My mum's visit ... check!
• Mark completing his hours in the hanger ... check!
• Weekend in Toronto ... check!
• Mark passing his exams ... check!
• Mark's parent's visit ... check!
• Look-see visit (week in Dodoma, Tanzania)
• Packing up our lives in Ohio
• Flying back to the UK

There are only a few more things left to accomplish now. The craziness has seemed to intensify the further down the list we have gone, with the biggest three items saved til last. Although I knew they were all coming eventually, I have spent my time concentrating on each item at hand. 

Now I have no excuses, with less than two months to go before the final flight, I have to attack those final few things, there is no putting them off any longer! The end is most definitely nigh!

Yesterday, after some cooler weather here in Ohio, we enjoyed an Autumn day which was more like a hot summer's day back in the UK. It was in the 80's and so we went for a family stroll in a park we've never been to before ... to take a quick break and enjoy each other's company. 

It was a like a little piece of England. Walking through the trees and the rose gardens, laughing and joking together, made it feel like we were back at home ... away from everything. It made the impending whirlwind seem a million miles away, rather than just around the corner!

I have to admit that there are times, especially when there such huge things imminent, when I wonder what life would be like if we'd chosen a different path.

If we hadn't gone into mission ...

If we weren't moving across continents every few years ...

If we'd stayed in the UK ...

If we were living a comfortable life in the suburbs ...

If we hadn't followed the plan that God worked out for us ...

I always come to the same conclusion. While I don't doubt that we would have made a good go of it, been both comfortable and happy ... I know we would have missed out on all the amazing adventures we're enjoying right now. 

Given a do-over, I honestly wouldn't change any of it ... however stressful it's going to get! There may be times I have to remind myself of that between now and Christmas though!

Banoffee Pie

Living in Tanzania, the ingredients for 'cake' were relatively easy to come by. It did make having a cake on birthday's a little less exciting though ... when you regularly eat it all year round!

In order to make birthday's a little more special, I started to make friends a Banoffee Pie instead. A mixture of banana and toffee and total yumminess! My aunty used to make them for family gatherings when I was a lot younger and then when I was a student, we used to have them during regular weekly meals at church.

The ingredients weren't so easy to come by in Dodoma, which made it all the more special to celebrate birthday's and special occasions with! We used to get the digestive biscuits flown down on a MAF shuttle from Nairobi or brought out by visitors. Making the cream was also difficult, so sometimes we substituted a packet of 'dream topping' instead. (My mum would send them out in a little package in the post, along with the Angel Delight to make butterscotch ice-cream ... always an exciting parcel to receive!)

When I started adding recipes to this blog, it wasn't long before a few of my friends, especially those from my time in Tanzania, were asking about my Banoffee Pie. For one reason or another, I've only just gotten round to including it ... so apologies if you're one of those who have been patiently waiting! 

I have always thought it was an American recipe but now that I live here I realise it most definitely isn't, the majority of my friends have never heard of Banoffee Pie! Earlier this week we went round to a friends for dinner and were asked to bring dessert. I made a Banoffee for the first time in forever, which went down very well and my mother-in-law (who apparently doesn't do 'sweet things') enjoyed tucking into three helpings over the course of just one evening!

Here's the recipe ... the wait is over!!

• 6oz Digestive biscuits - crushed (approx 12 biscuits) ... British 'biscuits' (cookies) not American 'biscuits', available in Walmart
• 3oz butter - melted
• 14oz tin condensed milk
• 2-3 bananas - sliced
• 1/2 pt double/whipping cream - whipped
• A little grated chocolate (I put a lot on this last banoffee pie!)

1. Boil sealed tin of condensed milk for 2 hours in a pan of water to make 'toffee' - cool before opening (make sure the water stays topped up and covers the tin. If you're living at altitude you may have to boil it for 3 hours!)
2. Combine biscuits and melted butter. Press into an 8" pie dish. Cool in fridge.
3. Spoon out toffee onto the biscuit base.
4. Lay out the banana slices to cover the toffee.
5. Spoon cream to make the top layer.
6. Sprinkle the grated chocolate on top (I got carried away with the one in the photo ... I was chatting to a very good friend in the UK on the phone at the time!)
7. Refrigerate until serving.