Jesus Loved Us with a Lasagna
Jesus Loved Us with a Lasagna
In the spring of 2021, the plague of the twenty-first century paid an unwelcome visit to our household. Two out of three of us were down for the count, and as the news spread, several of our friends (and even a few strangers, though fellow Jesus followers) reached out to offer care. It was truly encouraging to realize how loved and seen we were.
One friend of ours offered to make us dinner, and sent her husband over a couple days later with a pan of the best homemade lasagna I’d ever tasted! I mean, we’re talking mouth-watering goodness! (And I’m so thankful that I didn’t lose my sense of taste/smell because of COVID, or I would have missed out!)
A lasagna too tasty to never taste again
A while later, I asked our friend for the recipe, and she sent me the image of a well-worn piece of paper on which the front and back sides of an old recipe card had been photocopied. (This was clearly a well-loved dish in their household as well!)
Though I was excited to finally have the recipe, I didn’t look at it right away. I waited until the next time I was planning to make lasagna.
We’d invited some friends to come over for dinner and games, one weekend. It was going to be a large crowd, and I’d reasoned, “This will be the perfect excuse to make that lasagna!”
I knew I was going to be busy in the earlier parts of that day, so I’d had the forethought to read through the recipe well in advance — just to be sure I’d have enough time to spare for preparation and cooking. And thank goodness I checked ahead of time!
A labor of love
Not only was this lasagna the best lasagna I’d ever tasted; it was a two-day recipe!
And that realization overwhelmed me. Not in the sense that it was “too much work” for that weekend. (I prepped and pre-cooked the lasagna the day before, so that it could sit in the fridge over night before the final preparations the day-of, just as the recipe called for.)
What overwhelmed me was the realization of how well our friend had loved us with that pan of lasagna…
Our friend has a full-time job, and a family of her own to feed. Yet, when she offered to make us dinner, she hadn’t reached for the tried and true, quick and easy recipe for such occasions. (Anyone else besides me have one of those?)
Our friend chose the recipe for a meal that requires a two-day, multi-step preparation. She pulled out all the stops! And the craziest part about it is, if I’d never asked her for the recipe, we’d never have known just how much time and work she’d put into that meal. It was truly a labor of love.
This is not to say that it’s not loving to bring someone a quick and easy meal. Sometimes, there just isn’t time for anything more than that; and the simple willingness to sacrifice what little time you have to care for another is the fullest kind of love.
But I was challenged by my friend, because — even if I could spend two days of my busy life making a meal for a sick friend at the last minute, I’m not sure I would. I’m not sure it would’ve occurred to me to even try. I suspect that, even with time allowing, I still would’ve reached for that “tried and true, quick and easy recipe for such occasions.”
A love worth remembering
Our friend reminds me of the woman who poured out — or as some thought, “wasted” — her very costly jar of perfume on Jesus’ feet (Mark 14:3–9). That woman could have expressed her love for Jesus in a less extravagant way, and one that wouldn’t have cost her nearly as much. But this extravagant, sacrificial expression of her love was “a beautiful thing” — a love worth remembering, and a story worth telling over and over again.
Our friend did a beautiful thing for us back in the spring of 2021. She loved us well, and she did it quietly, with no intention of being recognized or remembered for her sacrifice. In this way, I see Jesus in our friend — pulling out all the stops, giving the best she has to offer, because of love.
When we were sick, Jesus loved us with a lasagna, through a friend of ours who really loves Him.
I want to love like this.
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Feeling a little Bah-humbug-y this December? Searching for something to help get you into the Christmas spirit?
If you (like me) love Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, right now, you and your whole family can listen to a masterful retelling of his classic tale in four parts for free on Spotify (or at scroogepodcast.com), featuring the vocal talents of Sean Astin and John Rhys-Davies!
I just listened to it, myself, during a long drive, and it was a great way to refocus my mind on what matters most all year round, but especially as we set aside time to remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Savior of the world!
Listen to the trailer below. (Note, the trailer says, “Coming soon,” but the podcast has been released, and all episodes are currently available.)
