Philippians 1:9-10 — I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.
My favorite cook was Effie Mae Prewitt. She was my mom’s mom. We called her Ma-mae.
I can still see her standing at the stove in her kitchen — that worn skillet and the smell of butter melting before sunrise. She would hum some tune from church and was never in a hurry.
Her pancakes were perfection on a plate. Soft. Golden. Warm. I remember begging to spend Friday nights at her house, just so I could wake up to those pancakes and Saturday morning cartoons. That was better than a trip to Disney World.
I’d sit at her kitchen table, legs swinging, while she slid a fresh stack onto my plate. She would ask simple questions — how I was doing, if I’d slept well, if I wanted more syrup — and she’d listen like every word mattered.
Back then, I didn’t know she was teaching me something more important than a recipe. She was showing me what love looks like when it’s served hot off the griddle.
Now she’s gone. The kitchen’s quiet, and there’s no one to ask, “What are you cooking?” I miss her hands — always doing something kind for someone else.
When I think back on memories of her, I just think about the gospel. You know? In its simplest form — feeding the hungry, comforting the lonely, loving people. That’s what life is all about right?
I want the love I share to overflow the same way Ma-mae’s pancakes overflowed with warmth and care.
Philippians 1:9-10 comes to mind: “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.”
So, how about you? It’s in those small, daily acts that Jesus’s love becomes visible through us. No matter how simple, I believe that whatever you do in love will warm hearts and change lives.
After all, that’s how Ma-mae did it — one plate at a time.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
- How can small, everyday acts of love make a difference in someone’s life?
- In what ways can you grow in understanding what truly matters?
- Who in your life models the kind of love Paul describes in Philippians 1:9-10, and how can you follow their example?