I have to confess to succumbing to a social cliche. It has become commonplace for people to take pictures of their food. You know, diners will take the obligatory photo of their meal and comment on whatever restaurant they patronize, often going on and on as if they were a professional restaurant critic working for the local newspaper… er, I mean blog, since newspapers are rapidly becoming passe.
Since we haven’t been going out to eat, I sometimes take pictures of our own food that we make here at the Leung house. Someday, just for kicks, we might put a recipe online. In any case, I’ve attached a photo of last night’s dinner. (Don’t worry, I really am going somewhere with this.)
We were quite excited to sit down to one of our new favorites, Sichuan boiled pork! The heady aroma of garlic and bean paste, the intensity of the chilies, the supple succulence of the meat and vegetables, and the tongue-numbing “mala” of Sichuan peppercorns make this dish so incredibly satisfying! Of course, my wife was even more satisfied since she had her portion accompanied by freshly steamed jasmine rice and a cooling bowl of ice cream afterwards (both of which due to my low carb diet, I had to do without.) It turns out, I really could have used that bowl of ice cream though. Let me explain.
After prayer, we jumped in, with me not even getting to the hot sizzling bowl of red until AFTER my first course of green vegetables. When I finally got to the main event, I could hardly wait. My chopsticks were a flying blur. I grabbed what I thought was a generous mouthful of pork covered in green onion and cilantro, and began enthusiastically chewing until I realized there was “something very wrong with this picture.” Unbeknownst to me, there was actually an entire chili pepper hidden in the middle of that big bite! It was so spicy I actually started to hiccup uncontrollably. Panic ensued. I cried out for my wife to come to my rescue, and she did by bringing me cup after cup of half-and-half. I’m glad to report that very slowly, gradually, the casein in the milk bonded with the capsaicin in my mouth and pulled the searing chili oil away from my tortured tongue. What an ordeal!
This incident is kind of descriptive of this past year. It has definitely been a painful and stressful roller coaster ride that was, as my friend put it, “Unplanned and unwanted.” Even now, I’m trying to manage the PTSD and fall out from the stroke. I am glad, however, that like the working of the dairy, God is providing slow and gradual healing.
Please pray for me that God will graciously accelerate my rate of healing so that I will be able to keep my daughter safe when I have to babysit her by myself in the Fall. Right now, I can’t even take care of myself! I must admit, I’m a little scared.
Still, things could be a whole lot worse. I just read an article about people in Hong-Kong living in cage homes during Covid-19. Imagine social distancing when your entire living space is less than 100 square feet! It is simply unthinkable by Western standards. We are fortunate indeed. If it were not for the grace of God, we could be living in a similar situation.
My family and I are so grateful to have people like you in our corner. Because of your gracious support, God has provided what we need to keep going. Thank you so much. God continues to use you to bless us through your prayers and gifts. May God bless you richly.
Psalm 27:13-14
I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.