I found this recipe for lentil loaf with mushroom gravy
if my local store near church has red lentils and mushrooms,
I will be able to make it tomorrow morning...
Mr Husband works from home tomorrow...
***
Yesterday was day one of Great Lent.
It was an intense day.
A bit worried about the virus coming and Mr Husband
having to work from home in the future,
I went to our local big grocery store by light rail yesterday.
Years ago I got mono and I still feel one of the reasons was taking
the train to NYC.
(Other reasons included doing to much, not resting when I should have,
having one event that had more sugar than I expected)...
so yes, I wore plastic gloves from light rail, to grocery shopping to light rail.
Then I put them in a local area garbage can near the light rail where
I got off to go to church.
If I would have known two things
1. my Husband was advised to have more lentils
2. the recipe I mentioned above
I would have already had the red lentils and mushrooms.
But I also spent a good amount of time in my pantry this morning
(after rearranging it yesterday a bit so I had a good spot for some
shelf stable vegetables) finding the ingredients I already had for
this recipe. It's an involved recipe but I had everything already other
than red lentils and fresh mushrooms.
I am thinking of making this and freezing some of it in slices
between parchment paper and then foil and then a freezer bag.
***
I found this article, like Juliana, a friend of over 7 years now, to be helpful.
(Also helpful was the article I found it in about how to prepare for
the virus that is scaring so many)
Realizing that adjustment reactions are normal and even helpful to the
person in a situation that has just shifted towards something
unexpected that changes one's daily life, has been
encouraging... the panic one sees from the news is well,
just exhausting.
Seeing shelves emptied at our local big grocery store of
Clorox/Lysol wipes and rice was a bit crazy.
People are scared.
There were two men working at that store bringing BOXES
on dollies of Lysol spray.
I've never seen anything like it.
I admit I bought one container of the Lysol spray.
My laundry room shelves already have a good amount of cleaning
supplies and I bought germicidal face wipes last week online
that came already on Sunday.
The woman behind me (a beautiful kindly faced Asian woman)
had in her grocery stash 2 bottles of bleach!
Given everything that may be possible,
I feel we are nearly as ready as we can be.
***
Last night was the first night of the Canon of St Andrew of Crete.
one of my friends and I talked about the irony of everyone preparing
food and supplies but not preparing their souls.
This beautiful set of prayers is very much about doing just that
as we seek to repent and prepare ourselves for
Holy Week and Pascha and also for, when God so wills,
our own death or of Christ, our Holy Bridegroom, returning.
***
I have various friends who have had trauma in their lives
and I am seeing how those who have had such things
get more scared about things now (like the virus).
***
For me, I can struggle with fear about Lent itself because
it has at times been times of sickness for us.
***
Lent is also a time when we see our own weaknesses more
and that we have to come to Christ and ask Him to
carry us through, carry us to Pascha (Easter).
***
And so I do indeed ask God for this mercy!
May Christ carry us in His merciful arms to Pascha!
5 comments:
I'm not trying to be facetious but "Happy Lent, Time to repent" made me smile as it's catchy but so true.
I agree that people are so worried about their physical selves ( with this virus) and have little concern for their souls.
Hi, Elizabeth! Good idea with those gloves! We must keep well these days! We are trying to "keep calm and carry on" here, but as the Corona virus continues to be a concern, preparedness is a good idea. This week I do hope to stock up on some extra rice, beans and toilet paper. ;) Thankfully the supermarkets aren't wiped out here yet! Your pantry is AMAZING! I love a good lentil loaf...mmm... It freezes well. And depending on what's in it, it can be a bit like soup, where by freezing, the longer it it is in the freezer, the better it is each time around. "Happy Lent, Time to repent"... funny but yes, sooo true!! Wishing you & yours a blessed Great Lent--GOD BLESS YOU!! :) ((HUGS))
I'm heading to the grocery for a few things and I sure hope it's not wiped out. I don't need much, but I hate a wasted trip - and I hate to see any evidence that people here may be panicking. I still don't have the sense yet that anyone here is, but (as of this moment) Indiana doesn't seem to have any cases yet. That can change in a moment, I know. I do know the schools have a plan, and at church on Sunday it was a bit of a topic of discussion, but everyone's carrying on as if all is good.
I don't take any of it lightly, but rather, pray for those who are most vulnerable (with MIL at the top of our personal list), and suspect we may self-regulate our activities at some point - even if our city and/or social circles don't regulate these things. It's certainly an opportunity to trust that God is ultimately in control and give our fears and concerns to His care.
The note your husband left for you was really sweet. :)
Back again - I just read the link to"this article" (Adjustment Reactions). That was a very good and affirming read. Thank you for sharing it, Elizabeth. When (earlier this week) I contacted the director of the ESL program I volunteer for and told her to hold off matching me with a new non-native English speaker (knowing, from my experience, that internationals in this program tend to be travelers) I was "practicing" - not panicking. :) I knew it wasn't born out of panic, but rather just wanting to take that unnecessary potentiality off my plate until concerns about COVID-19 pass, but I did have to tell myself to not worry about her thinking I might be over reacting. lol
Poor Ella is very worried and I don't know how to help her. It doesn't help that Colin watches so much news every day. I'm trying not to worry, but my asthma reacts so badly when I get sick.
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