Not so long ago, I was going through my 45-year+ recipe box I received for a wedding shower gift. You know, the kind with tabbed dividers that hold three by five lined cards and you actually write out recipes! I had not browsed through it for quite some time, and I was hunting down a specific recipe. My fingers stumbled upon “Life’s Recipe” on a piece of paper that was nestled in with other cards behind my “Meat” divider.
I recognized it from years long gone by. Before continuing my specific recipe search, I paused a moment to read it. And then I drew a breath and pondered on the ingredients and instructions for “baking” this recipe. I have never discovered the author. I am thinking someone never got credit for how this life recipe has traveled around to thousands of readers all over the world. But then again, when I read it, I’m sure the person who wrote the recipe would not even want the credit.
As we start a new year, I thought I’d share this recipe with all of you. Maybe you’ve never seen this, or maybe you have, but a re-read could be beneficial for many of us. Enjoy!
Life’s Recipe
1 Cup good thoughts
1 Cup consideration for others
2 Cups sacrifice for others
3 Cups forgiveness
2 Cups well-beaten faults
Mix these thoroughly and add tears of joy and sorrow and sympathy for others. Flavor with little gifts of love and kindly service. Fold in 4 Cups of prayers and faith to lighten other ingredients, and raise the texture to great heights of good living. After pouring all this into your daily life, bake well with the tear of human kindness. Serve with a smile!
As we begin a new year, I’d love for my readers to share family stories with me so that I could post them for all of us. Even if it’s just a memory, you don’t have to write it all out if you’re not crazy about writing. When the family memory pops into your mind, write it down on a piece of paper. Think about it for a few days for any details, and then send me the gist of it. I might ask a few questions, then I’ll write your family memory into a story for all of us to enjoy!
Let’s share our family stories with one another. Let’s pass them down to the next generation.
beckyvanvleet9@gmail.com
Hi Becky. I love this recipe! Like you, I have a book my mom made up for me that has dozens of recipes written out on those three by five cards.
Oh, the days of the 3X5 recipe cards. Sweet memories!
Hello Becky,
I read your story Bubbles and Friendship in an issue of The Virginia Register and now Life’s Recipe and enjoyed both very much.
And want to get your posts!
I grew up on a farm with 3 sisters and a brother and this was the late 40s/50s/60s and our stories could fill a book!
We girls had to take turns washing and drying the dishes but also the milk buckets and the disks for the cream separator!
It was not always a happy time!
Thanks for sharing your stories!
Barbara
Thank you, Barbara, for stopping by and sharing your background. I sure would love to capture some of you family stories and post them for others to enjoy. Let’s stay in touch, and thank you for your kind words!
Maybe I did give you a copy!
I, too, have this “Life’s Recipe” in my recipe box. I wonder if you gave me a copy of it years ago! They are beautiful virtues to live by and certainly ones we were raised with by our Christian parents.
This is wonderful Becky. You are the inspiration for my passion of words that Abba brought to me. I believe that, I will continue to let you inspire me until one day I finally put in words………. God bless you beautiful soul. I love your heart and I love your writings. Blessings in 2022. I think all of us need to reread every now and then. God bless your friend. ♥️
Gail, your kind words fill my heart with joy!
Becky, how have we allowed consideration, kindness, and forgiveness to become so rare in our world? My parents emphasized all these virtues in our home, but Mom and Dad didn’t have to compete against all the social media trash that is polluting the minds of children today. Thank you for reminding us of those God-honoring attributes and the importance of displaying them in our own lives and teaching them to our children and grandchildren.
I agree with you, Debbie. These character traits were emphasized in my home as well. It’s sad to me that we’ve moved so far away from them in our culture today.
Thanks for stopping by, Kathy! The best recipe ever!
A great recipe for these times, or any time! Thanks for sharing it, Becky.
Oh, Becky! This is absolutely precious!!! We need to use the ingredients in this recipe until we run out of time!! Okay, let me rephrase — I need to use this recipe all the time!!! Thank you for sharing!!! 🙂
eMarie, I think we need to stick with “we”, as in the whole world population!