{"id":1062,"date":"2013-08-17T12:54:56","date_gmt":"2013-08-17T12:54:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kandynolesstevens.com\/?p=1062"},"modified":"2013-08-17T12:54:56","modified_gmt":"2013-08-17T12:54:56","slug":"taking-a-deep-breath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/?p=1062","title":{"rendered":"Taking a deep breath"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up, our family did two things almost without fail. Both followed other anchors in my life, as if that was that natural order in our home.\u00a0 Following basketball games, we often went out with other coaches\u2019 and team members\u2019 families for dessert.\u00a0 My standard order was hot fudge cake at Shoney\u2019s.\u00a0 That succulent tower of chocolate cake, ice cream, fudge and whipping cream\u00a0is still my all-time favorite dessert. The second thing we did rather dependably followed Sunday morning services.\u00a0 We went to eat at a local restaurant, known as\u00a0The Varsity<\/i>.\u00a0 Growing up, I didn\u2019t much appreciate this second one, because I wanted to go eat at some hip cool fast-food restaurant rather one that served good ol\u2019 Southern cooking.\u00a0 At that time in my life, I wanted to venture on the edge of dining, and not be stuck in deeply entrenched ruts. Right now (older and wiser), I wish The Varsity <\/i>was still open, and I could force (I mean, take) my kids to eat there.<\/p>\n

There are several things that I vividly remember about both of those old hang outs.\u00a0 First and foremost, each time we went there I was surrounded by people who loved Jesus (and who loved us).\u00a0 I don\u2019t know that I can adequately describe that feeling.\u00a0 Growing up the way I did, there is just something about Southern people who love Jesus.\u00a0 They have an\u00a0air to them \u2013 full of life, hearty talks, and bellies full from all the tables piled with food. It\u2019s true what the Bible says about Christians having an aroma.\u00a0 Then and now, my soul senses want to soak up every molecule. \u00a0\u00a0Another thing that defines those memories is the ease of Southern hospitality.\u00a0 I miss \u201cYes ma\u2019am\u2019s\u201d and \u201cNo sir\u2019s\u201d, and I really miss being called, \u201cShug or Honey\u201d by just about everyone, including the waitress.\u00a0 Formal rituals dot every rhythm of society in those memories, but yet those rhythms come with ease.\u00a0 Finally laughter punctuates every<\/strong> memory. Next to salvation and creation, I think laughter was one of God\u2019s finest masterpieces.<\/p>\n

The flavor of my childhood is not something I experience often these days.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that I live among heathens who also happen to be curmudgeons.\u00a0 Quite the opposite, I live among wonderfully vibrant and caring people (who also love Jesus and who love to laugh), but that Southern hospitality (and sometimes craziness) is seldom found in my neck of the woods.<\/p>\n

Following my talk to the sweetest bunch of Sunday school ladies ever, a group of us decided to high tail it over to the Cracker Barrel for lunch.\u00a0 There were six of us at our table, but seated at the table directly behind us were fellow worshippers from that morning.\u00a0 We created such ruckus at our table that one gentleman from the other asked if he could be re-seated\u00a0 . . . with us . . . because we were having too much fun. \u00a0His proclamation reminded me so much of some of Granddaddy\u2019s friends that I wanted to jump up and hug him.<\/p>\n

\"I<\/a>

I shared both laughter and tears with sweet Miss C. Love her!<\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019ve eaten at Cracker Barrels from Florida to South Dakota, but that day surrounded by new sisters is one I will remember.\u00a0 A biscuit is a biscuit no matter where you eat it; so, it wasn\u2019t the food that made the lunch memorable. \u00a0It was the essence. There were stories swapped, tears shed both in laughter and in awe of God\u2019s amazing grace in trials of life. There were hands held\u00a0and prayers shared.<\/p>\n

Somewhere in that crowded restaurant, God reminded me that the things\u00a0longed for\u00a0 aren\u2019t always\u00a0\u00a0that far away because I took a deep breath and inhaled the precious air of my childhood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Growing up, our family did two things almost without fail. Both followed other anchors in my life, as if that was that natural order in our home.\u00a0 Following basketball games, we often went out with other coaches\u2019 and team members\u2019 families for dessert.\u00a0 My standard order was hot fudge cake at Shoney\u2019s.\u00a0 That succulent tower […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[722,723,233,724,312,347,491,715,716,613],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}