Sam's Special Soup Recipe

 The boys often wake up before G and me. Usually, they will engage in some pretend play. Remember their favorite characters Fy and Tz? Over the past year, they have elaborated on the story of Fy and Tz.....they even have a last name now...."Marine".  They also have an extended family, favorite foods, fears and ,dreams. I keep telling myself that I need to write all the details down for the boys......this is something very important that I must do.

This morning.....I could hear the boys sitting on the stairs and chatting. There was some talk of baseball and teams. I'm not really sure. I was pretty much still in dream land myself. Until.......I heard....."I wish you weren't my brother!"....."Well, I wish you lived somewhere else". And then there were feet running in different directions. They wanted nothing to do with each other. Passions were flying.

I remember saying the exact same things to my siblings when I was a child.

I called to the boy who was closest to our room and asked what was the matter......why did they start arguing? Sam proceeded to tell me again about how he wished his brother lived somewhere else, etc, etc. I told him that I understood that feeling.....and that I get mad at people too. We chatted a bit about that.....about how Uncle Robbie and I would fight as children....even up until we went off to college.

Sam then said that Fy has a story about being angry. He shared it with me....

"Do you know what Fy does when he gets angry?  His Daddy has a special recipe for soup. And do you know what the ingredients are? The fruit of the spirit!"

"Really??!"....... I asked.

Sam replied....."yes.....Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self Control....those are the special ingredients.... Fy eats it and then he isn't angry anymore!!

We continued to chat.....and he continued to touch my heart. Then he ran to Ross. Now Ross was waiting... thinking that the fight was going to continue. He was thinking....I need to be tough and defend myself (I'm guessing). He quickly shut the door before Sam could get in. Sam yelled.....

"Ross....wait.....I'm sorry!!".    Ross opened the door and said.....  "Me toooooo!"   They hugged and started playing again. The fight was over....just like that.

" A kind word turns away anger, but harsh words make tempers flare." Proverbs 15:1

I struggle in different areas......with different fruit....each day. Self control.......patience.......love......all of them, really. I'm going to work on keeping our home stocked with those special ingredients......because they do make one fantastic recipe.