Welcome to Ministry Monday. Today’s post is part of a series called Simple Service – easy ideas for taking care of your church family one act of kindness at a time. Take my Simple Service Challenge this month and post your pics to Facebook & Instagram with #simpleservice!
There’s one cardinal rule of motherhood. Thankfully, I’ve only broken it a few times in the last 5 years.
The rule? Moms can’t get sick.
It’s a fact. Like your toddler wetting the sheets you just changed or the dishwasher breaking when your husband goes out of town.
I still remember the shock in the voice of one first-time mother: “There’s no one to care for me when I get sick!”
It was more of an epiphany than a complaint. She had just discovered cardinal rule #1. Moms simply can’t get sick. And by that I mean, they aren’t allowed to get sick.
Oh, sure Moms get sick all the time. No matter how many times you wash your hands, you live with miniature walking germ factories.
It’s just that finding time to rest between laundry, work, household chores, ninja fights in the playroom, chauffeur duty, and dinner prep is really hard. Almost impossible if her house includes infants.
When my husband and I moved across country and away from family, the depressing reality of said rule became even clearer when our whole house came down the stomach flu – yep, including momma.
Taking pity on me, my pastor’s wife braved the virus and knocked on our door. When I answered (looking like the Grim Reaper, I’m sure), I saw she had a large pot in her hands.
She brought me homemade chicken soup. Her gift was a healing balm for my soul.
And recently, she brought me a steaming pot of soup when I had a nasty cold. It was as good as I remembered.
Last week, one of my friends posted a picture of a container of soup someone had brought her when she got sick.
“There have been a couple times when my mother-in-law has graciously dropped off care packages for our family while we were in the midst of sickness. In the care packages she would include items like toilet paper, milk, bread, Gatorade and other essentials that you commonly need, but would rather not have to make a run to the store for when you are sick. The most precious thing of all, however, is the huge tupperware container of homemade chicken noodle soup she includes. Not only is the soup delicious, but the large amount she provides is incredibly helpful as it allows us to eat from it for several days. This warm, nourishing gift is such a blessing because you know that she had to take time out of her busy schedule to MAKE something for us. It is a symbol of her desire to see us well again and a tangible offering of her love for our family–a very tasty, tangible offering at that!” Jessalyn Hutto of Desiring Virtue
Taking a sick mom homemade soup is a small act of kindness with a huge impact. Caring for our church family when one of us “takes a hit” from life is an easy way we can stir up love in the body of Christ.
Are you inspired to stir up love? Here’s my pastor’s wife’s recipe!
Chicken Soup with Spinach & Orzo
Ingredients for 1-2 people:
1 large box low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup orzo pasta (uncooked)
1 rotisserie chicken (white meat only, chopped or shredded)
Fresh spinach (2 handfuls)
1/2 tsp each of dried oregano, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder
1-2 pinches cayenne pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
In a pot, bring broth to a boil and add orzo (cook according to package directions). Lower heat and add spices and chicken. Once heated through, remove from heat and add spinach. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese. To serve more, you can easily double the ingredients.
So, stir some love up today! Take the Simple Service Challenge and bless a struggling mom or a sick church member with some homemade healing soup! Have a good recipe? Share it in the comments!
Don’t miss the other posts in the Simple Service series:
- The best way to encourage the mother of a challenging child
- A missional meal for new moms or new move-ins
- 1 Easy way to stir up love in your church family
I’m linking up with Recommendation Saturday.
Love this Melissa. Just recently a friend brought me a pot of chicken when I had a bad cold. It was really a blessing for me and my family. Thanks for this wonderful series. ~Victoria
Victoria, what a blessing that is to have a friend like that! Love it!
Oh boy, now I am hungry for chicken soup! Such a great treat on these cold days. The care we can show others is so simple and yet makes such a huge impact! Thanks for always inspiring me and so many others!! And thanks so much for linking up! Heart Hugs, Shelly <3