10/04/2020
Turkey Soup? Yes, Please!
Often, when we go through hard times in our lives, we want clarification to understand why it was necessary. I’ve learned after all these years that it’s the trials that prepare me for each new chapter of my life.
About 40 years ago, I went through one of the hardest times in my life. I was 18, very independent, and living on my own. The few months before I went to college was the time I now refer to as my “hungry time”. I had a job but the money I made was used to pay rent and electric. There was little money left over for food. If there were free services that provided food for those in need, I wasn’t aware of any. There was one week that all I had left in my refrigerator was a big onion. That onion was my every meal for that week. Another time I had a jar of peanut butter, and again, it was my every meal that week.
One of my strongest recollections of the “hungry time” was my Grandmother. Understand, she was not a terribly good cook. She didn’t burn water, but burned several pots of beans over the years. After Thanksgiving that year she made a big pot of Turkey Soup. She sent it to my parents’ house, (who still had 5 children at home). I believe Grandma took one taste and decided (like Aunt Bea’s pickles) it needed to be shared. My mother took one taste and decided since I lived alone that I may enjoy it more than they would. I was grateful to get that soup. However, it was the most horrendous thing I have ever tasted, even to this day. It, however, was a blessing. It lasted me two weeks. I did everything to that soup to try to make it edible. Nothing killed the smell during the heating process. If it was politically correct to compare it to roadkill, I would. I began to dread every meal, wishing to have the onion back. My apartment wreaked of the smell of Turkey Soup. But, it was food, and it was only for two weeks. I was grateful when I ate the last of it. It’s amazing how you can make one item stretch over a week’s time. That time period seems surreal to me now. I’m grateful that I’m no longer there.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
Now, 40 years later, I’ve worked 6 years in the Homeless Community, 5 years in the downtown area. I think my passion for this ministry stems from my “hungry time”. Who would have known that this was what God was preparing me for?
He knew.
- Teresa Alfieri
