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Read and Write. Start here and now.
Produced: by Delores Liesner An hour later, amid hugs at the front door, a cry of "Oh no!" came from our first grader. "Laurie, what’s the problem?" I wondered. "Mom, it’s Thursday!" she wailed, telling me absolutely nothing. I got down on my knees and held her. "Honey, what’s this about Thursday?" "Oh, mommy! I told teacher you’d bring cupcakes to school today. I forgot to tell you. There’s a note." "No problem", I told her. "I’ll make them and bring them to school". Another frantic minute ticked by as Kindergartner Cheri "helped" and our six hands searched Laurie's school bag. Aha! The note ....24 cupcakes....by 11:30. Relieved, they were off to school, as I turned toward the kitchen. A family habit of doing ‘last things first’ kicked in. Tightening my robe, I got out the baking tins and mixer, and began collecting the recipe’s ingredients. Mentally checking off a favorite recipe, I had only to set the eggs out to room temperature and could begin the mixing after getting dressed. Major problem! There were no eggs in the refrigerator! Oh, no! I couldn’t let my little girl down. I’d promised. The word ‘promise’ prodded my conscience back to that morning's prayer. We had played finances to the wire getting into the house and there was not even change to be had if I wanted to run to the store for the eggs. Borrow from the neighbors? I cancelled that thought as we had so recently moved here and had only seen an occasional adult so far. What to do? That ‘little voice" inside said to pray. Pray? For eggs? I glanced at the clock. It was after 8:00 already and I could hear our toddler son calling for his breakfast. Flicking the oven dial to 350, I raced upstairs, sending up a prayer for help to keep the morning's promises - to God and to my little girl - as I got dressed and brought Kevin down. The oven continued warming while Kevin ate and I cleared the breakfast remnants from the table. While refrigerating the makings for dinner, I heard the scrape and clunk of the mailbox on the front porch receiving its daily deposit. The clock on the stove confirmed the punctuality of the mailman - quarter after 9 already! Grabbing Kevin from his highchair, I propped him on my hip and joked, "Let’s go see if there’s a refund check so we can dash to the store and buy those missing eggs." Before we got to the mailbox however, Kevin cried out "Mom - eggs!" and I gasped for his chubby finger pointed at two familiar blue plastic cartons stacked on the edge of the porch. Not one but two dozen eggs! Kevin and I raced to the sidewalk, glancing left and right, half expecting to see someone delivering eggs to each household, but no mysterious egg-deliverer was in sight. "What do you think, Kevin?" I chattered as we gave a quick glance at the porches on either side and across the street from our home. When all our gazing revealed no similar blue cartons I looked up into the heavens and wondered aloud that God apparently cared for such a little thing. "Eggs, Mom!" Kevin reminded me, and a more thoughtful mom turned back to the house to get those cupcakes finished, cooled, frosted, and delivered. The smile on my little girl’s face as the teacher accepted the promised treats was confident and plainly said, "I knew you’d come", yet every step of the 5 blocks home, I wondered. Where had those eggs come from? No clues waited for me when we got home so Kevin and I had a cupcake with our lunch before he went down for a nap and I resumed thinking about the mystery as I went about the daily chores. That evening, 6-year-old Cheri handed me the ringing phone that brought the answer. A slow smile grew as my friend Bonnie's voice, unusually hesitant, began, "Um, did you happen to find some eggs on your porch this morning?" "Was that you?" I exclaimed. "I looked and didn’t see anyone! I can't help asking, Bonnie - why would you leave eggs on my porch?" "Well", she started, sheepishly, "about 8 or so this morning I got the strongest urge for gingerbread, and well, you know I can’t bake, but I thought of you and how much I like gingerbread. I know things are tight for you just getting into your house, so I sent David to the store, thinking maybe if I bought the most expensive ingredient you would make me a batch....silly, huh?" She later admitted my "Wow!" hurt her eardrums, but was excited to hear the "rest of the story", not once but twice as she called to her son David to listen on the extension. David's joy was contagious as he discovered his trip to the store was part of an answer to prayer. Glad we found the eggs his forgetting to ring the doorbell, David wondered, "Will I get gingerbread too?" Happily we complied and frosted the cake with the reference to I Peter 5:7. "Cast all your care on God because God cares for you". To this day we remember how God used cupcakes, eggs, and gingerbread to teach two families that God cares for our every need.
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