We had our dear friends from out of town staying with us. Every night was a late one as we stayed up talking and laughing. I had planned out delicious meals to go along with the anticipated visit. We all know good food makes a fun time with friends even better.
Mary and I cleaned up the kitchen after a quick breakfast before heading off to church. “Is there anything we need to prep now for dinner?” The roast! Oh no! It was still rock solid in the freezer. I had completely forgotten to take it out the night before. I should have put it in the oven first thing in the morning.
I hadn’t made many roasts before. Was there a trick to cooking a frozen roast in a few hours and not have it as tough as beef jerky? If anyone knew that answer it would be my friend Laurel. She made the best roast I had ever eaten. I grabbed the phone and gave her a quick call.
“Oh, Amber! I’m cooking a roast today too. You should have had that roast in the oven hours ago! There’s nothing you can do.” Oh well! Guess I’d have to figure out something different for dinner. We loaded all the kids into the car and headed off to church.
As we drove back home with hungry and tired kids that afternoon I contemplated what to make. Spaghetti anyone? Not as good as the roast I had planned but it would fill bellies just fine. I pulled into the garage wishing dinner was already cooking. I opened the door into the house and immediately breathed in the most exquisite aroma. Mary stood was behind me and had also taken a mouthwatering breath. We looked at each other a little confused.
“I thought you forgot to put the roast in the oven this morning.” My husband said as he excitedly walked into the kitchen. I marched straight to the oven and opened it to investigate. There it was. I would recognize that cream colored dutch oven pot with a little chip on the lid anywhere. Laurel had taken the roast she was making for her family and put it my oven on her way to church.
Who would do that?!
Mary and I looked at each other with our mouths open in amazement. The men were just excited that dinner was back on. The women, we knew what a sweet sacrifice this was. Would we have given away a delicious dinner we had prepared for our own family and settle for something else? It wasn’t like I was sick or in need.
I don’t know if anyone had done anything so kind for me before. The fact that I would have been just fine without the roast made the act all the more of a sacrifice in my mind. She didn’t need to give me her dinner and I would have never imagined or expected her to. It is certainly not something I would have thought to do myself had the roles been reversed.
She had sacrificed having a delicious meal in the oven when she got home. She gave up being able to take a nice afternoon nap while family dinner cooked. She was ok with eating something other than a heavenly roast that day. All this so she could have the joy of doing something kind for a friend.
That is truly what it was for her; a joy. She always thought of ways to serve and went to lengths that I would never even think of. If I did, I would quickly brush them off because it would be too much effort and “no one would really expect me to do that.”
Recently we were able to visit with the same dear friends who also got to enjoy Laurel’s roast. It has been over 10 years since that meal. As Mary spoke about service she brought up that day. With tears brimming in her eyes she spoke of how she would never forget such an example of kindness. “Who would do that?!”
It is one thing to fill an obvious and urgent need. It is another to do something that isn’t really a need at all. Though all acts of service are beautiful, sometimes it is the ones that are completely unexpected and seemingly unneeded that are the most profound.
I hope I can open my eyes to not only the needs of others but the “unneeded” ways I can serve. I guess no matter what, we all “need” to feel loved by those around us. Right now is the perfect time serve in this way.
