“What’s Wrong with Warm Soup?” |

Almost two years ago, my husband and I anxiously awaited the birth of our son. Our nerves were raw as we hoped and prayed that the birth parents wouldn’t change their minds after his birth.

During this time I met a woman who was campaigning in our area. She was an outgoing, friendly woman who seemed to know a lot about what was going on in our town. As we moved to the topic of children, I shared that I was hoping to become a mom in the next several weeks through the gift of adoption.

I will never forget what she told me. She said, “The thing about being a mom is that I really miss hot soup. Dinner is ready and my husband needs something and then my daughter needs something. I finally sit down and my daughter needs help with her food. By the time I’m able to eat my soup is warm. I really miss hot soup.”

As someone who waited for years to welcome a baby into my arms, I wanted to say, “What’s so wrong with warm soup? That’s what a microwave is for!” Even now, as we are a few short months from celebrating my son’s second birthday, I would still want to say that.

Now, I do admit that I enjoy a bowl of hot soup. I really do like my food being hot. But I don’t want to view a bowl of warm soup as an inconvenience either. I want to see it as a blessing.

I love what a bowl of warm soup means to me and my home.

A bowl of warm soup means I am blessed with a child. It means I am blessed with extra cuddles and sloppy wet kisses.

A bowl of warm soup means my home is filled with more laughter and lots of energy.

A bowl of warm soup gives me someone to share breakfast and lunch with, and someone to talk to throughout the day. It gives me the satisfaction of hearing my little man say, “yummy” when he really likes the food I cooked for him.

A bowl of warm soup brings the blessing of listening to my son “play” the piano or strum a guitar. It means hearing my little boy hum a song and say sweet “I love you’s”.

A bowl of warm soup provides daily amusement as my son tries to mimic things my husband and I do or say. It gives free entertainment as he wants to show off shooting “hoops” or jumping as high as he can across the floor.

A bowl of warm soup gives us extra reasons to smile as my son says words for the first time, learns new things and whispers secrets in our ears.

Yep. I think I’ll take a bowl of warm soup any day, along with all the blessings that come with them. And on the rare occasion that I have a chance to eat a bowl of hot soup, well, I’ll take that as a blessing too and savor each bite because I don’t know when I will have that chance again.