Hot Dogs & Heaven
Hot Dogs
& Heaven
“But he said
to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,
so that Christ's power may rest on me.”
2
Corinthians 12:9
Alright
y’all. (Side note: yes, I know I grew up in the North where “y’all” is not
proper English, but I have weakness for a Southern boy and the dialect of his
birthplace, and if anyone complains when I happen to slip into that dialect
from time to time in print and call people darlin’, sugar, dear, or love… well…
then it just wasn’t meant to be between us anyway.) My favorite holiday is coming up. I like Christmas, Easter,
New Year’s, Valentine’s, Halloween, Mardi Gras, Memorial Day, Labor Day, MLK,
and any other day my husband has a day off work. Those are all great holidays.
But, 4th of July is my favorite, and I’m not entirely sure it is
because of all the patriotic-ness of the day - although I do appreciate that
too. Mostly it is because of the hot dogs and my childhood memories around this
time of year.
I
feel very sheepish at admitting this to a crowd containing several very health
and food conscientious friends whom I love dearly and would hate to loose over
my open confessions of love for a highly questionable meat product. But, along
with a late-acquired sporadic Southern drawl, a strong desire to keep my kids
boxed and well padded, and a sordid history with wine binges, these are the
quirks and weaknesses that make me, me. Just in case any of these other foods
are deal breakers y’all should also know I sometimes like other potentially
gross-to-others foods like braunschweiger, cottage cheese (my husband and my
kids hate this), Brussels sprouts, broccoli, lima beans, sushi, and raw
oysters. I’m not Andrew Zimmerman adventurous exactly, but my dietary
restrictions are not very restrictive, and his show “Bizarre Foods” does not
repulse me as much as it does my Sweetheart.
But,
I digressed with all that dietary digestion, so, back to the hot dogs and the
memories. My best friend from first grade gave me the beanie baby Oscar Meyer
Mobile above as a wedding gift, in honor of my notorious weakness. Her father
was stunned at the speed I could wolf down two hot dogs as a little second
grader. That is one of the summer barbecuing memories I hold dear as we enter
into the July 4th weekend. I also have tender childhood memories of
driving by Midwest cornfields smelling of manure, and peaking with corn and
alfalfa, of roadside farmer’s stands bursting with sweet corn and strawberries
in July. Memories of the fireflies that we could chase in our yards this time
of year, or gaze at in panorama as they flickered star-like over vast square
quilts of farmland. Memories of bike parades, and local marching bands, small July
4th gatherings over BBQs, enhanced and enchanted with bubbles,
sprinkler games, and hand-held sparklers. I have fond memories of ambling walks
to the local park in the dusk of the evening, full from hot dogs, carrying
blankets, and pulling younger siblings in the Radio-flier. We laid out the
blankets on a big open hill, sprayed on more mosquito repellent, and giggled
through card games until the firemen thought it dark enough to set lights to
tails and send rockets soaring into explosive blossoms of red, white, and blue.
For me, those times and memories around the 4th of July are as close
to heaven as I can imagine here on earth.
This
time of year I have great weaknesses for hot dogs and for reliving those
memories, and of these I will boast, because I know that in them is a weakness
for wanting this kind of touch of heaven on earth all the time. A weakness that
I believe God works through, and Jesus expresses in the Our Father saying “Thy
Kingdom come, on earth, as it is in heaven.” How such can happen, given the
many places in the world where it seems more like hell has come to earth than heaven,
is beyond me. I only know that, especially in July, I have fond memories of
what heaven on earth could possibly feel like, and weakness for wanting much
more of it.
May
you find heaven this week and weekend in sweet corn and sweet company, in
fireworks and friendships, in hot dogs and hot days. May you be enchanted by
the bubbles, the bike parades, the bands, the sparklers and the sprinklers. May
the mosquitoes be few, and the fireflies be many. And may you rest on the grass
looking up at the stars in the heavens, while feeling heaven all the way from
the ground up. Amen.
