Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Homemaking Tip – It's Seldom Convenient

When I was about twenty-five, my friend Teri said, “Serving others is seldom convenient.” I had never thought about that before, but knew she was right on cue when she said it. If I waited for helping others to easily fit into my schedule I wouldn’t be doing much for anyone ever. Still today I often hear Teri’s voice “Serving others is seldom convenient” when I see someone who needs help right away. Recognizing that it’s senseless to expect serving others to be convenient helps me to better seize opportunities.

I’ve decided canning is like that, too. It’s seldom convenient. It seems the things that need to be bottled are ready the very week that is already stacked high and deep.

Like grapes. They’re ready so I’ve been canning grape juice for the last few days. Not only was the ripening of the grapes not convenient, but neither has juicing them been. The bottom broke out of one of the bottles when the scalding grape juice hit it. It filled a drawer with grape juice and trickled down to other the drawers as well. It splattered across the kitchen floor and down the sides of the stove. Sticky. Purple. Everywhere. Later, the little metal juicer spout fell into a bottle. I didn’t notice the spout was gone until jars and jars were filled and then had to search the bottles of juice to find it.

No, serving others and canning are seldom convenient. In fact, now that I think about it, most worthwhile endeavors are seldom convenient, and expecting them to be so only makes it easier to procrastinate or desert trying altogether.

And now the buzzer is beeping again telling me it’s time to fill more bottles. Grapes have no regard for blogging. I’m telling you, canning is seldom convenient.

And that's my tip for today:  don't expect for good things to be convenient.

4 comments:

Brenda Goodrich said...

Every year I call it "the great grape juice debaucle". Apparently, I'm not alone:)

Deidra said...

Like canning tomatoes the day I left town (and needed to be packing) because they wouldn't wait another day, and I didn't have one anyway!

My parents now have grapes and I was left wishing I lived closer so I could can some juice. I've never canned grape juice before.

michelle said...

Oh dear. I haven't even picked my grapes yet! It's on the docket for tomorrow, when others will be home to help. I have never had a bottle break, but I can just picture that juice going everywhere. I would not have dealt with that very well.

You and your friend are so right about worthwhile things seldom being convenient. Or easy.

Kim Sue said...

wow...Sadly I think I procrastinate too often and still have not learned the lesson to stop waiting for them to be convenient!