Singing in Thorny Places

This picture is of a wool applique piece I purchased a few years back when the more intense days of the COVID-19 pandemic were upon us. I love cardinals, and it's always a treat to see them when my travels take me east of the Mississippi. Their bright red color (at least of the males) gives you cause to notice them, and their song is cheerful as well. I also purchased this kit to help refocus my perspective and some of the frustrations and discouragement I was experiencing.

For the past two months, I've been contemplating the concept of "thorny places." My Advent devotional was built around the traditional carol, Joy to the World. Week 3 of this devotional emphasized the often overlooked third verse:

No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground;              He comes to make HIs blessings flow far as the curse is found.

Week 3 of this devotional came at a time when two families within our church were grieving the abrupt and untimely losses of loved ones. These losses were a raw reminder of the sorrows of this present world and the consequences of the thorn-infested ground on which we now reside. The devotional sessions also directed us to remembering that Jesus' blessings extent to all reaches of the thorny ground, and that we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the thorny places.

This has let to my contemplation of additional thorny places. The convergence of politics, pandemic, and patriarchy over the past decade has been particularly unsettling and has resulted in my being in thorny places I never would have anticipated. It's also been a season of deeper spiritual reflection and discernment between cultural norms and traditions within what I have considered to be my faith community and the enduring truths of God's Word. I've also gained a deeper appreciation of what it means to count the cost of following Jesus. As a familiar song says:

I have decided to follow Jesus; No turning back, no turning back.

While navigating these complex, thorny places, I've subscribed to a freely available online devotional that has been a nice addition to other personal Bible studies. On the weekends, this devotional features hymns, some of which date back several centuries. In the midst of the thorny places, I've found comfort in the lyrics of many of these hymns and felt encouragement in seeing enduring truths of the gospel presented in song across time. One of these hymns is "How can I keep from singing." This hymn has an American folk tune melody to it. Its author is known only as Pauline T and was written in the 1860s.

   Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?

My own song in the thorny places, particularly those of politics, pandemic, and patriarchy in many ways relates to the basis of the work that I do. At the end of the day, the work that I have been called to do relates to advancing the health and well-being of children. I do this through the conduct of science and investing in others to implement evidence and best practices to improve the lives of children. This is how I live out the truths in one of the very earliest songs I learned:

Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.

My song in the thorny places may not be the melody of the cardinal. Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, I will keep on singing. I will sing of God's mercies through advocacy, education, and seeking to do justice.

I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever. Psalm 89:1

Collard greens and black-eyed peas

My husband and I like a good pot of beans. You are welcome to use that information however you may see fit - we truly won't be offended.  In addition to a traditional stand-by pot of ham hocks and beans, we enjoy trying other varieties of beans. This includes black-eyed peas which actually are a type of bean. I had truly intended to finish this posting back in August when we harvested the last of the collards from our garden. For good or for bad, the completion of this post has been delayed until the present.

Both black-eyed peas and collard greens are traditional New Year's Day foods in the South. While they can be eaten separately, this recipe combines them in one dish. It makes a great side dish at a barbecue. Alternatively, it can be served over rice as something of a main dish. We've enjoyed them both ways. 

For several years now, we've grown collards in our garden. We typically plant them in the early spring along with the cabbage and kale. Some years, they grow well with nice full leaves. Other years, they are a more scraggly looking. This past year was more a case of the latter. The good thing, though, is that once you chop up the collards for cooking, you really can't tell what they looked like at the outset. As we were harvesting our 2024 garden, I decided just to harvest the remaining collards all at once and be done with them. That meant cooking up a lot of black-eyed peas as well. With such a large batch, we froze a number of bags of them to use for later, including our 2025 New Year's Day dinner. 

Here is the recipe which has been scaled to an amount that you might want to make if you are bringing a side dish to a barbecue. These black-eyed peas do pair very nicely with smoked brisket or pulled pork. They also taste good with a dash of Tabasco sauce (we like the chipotle kind with our black-eyed peas) or a sprinkling of Slap Ya Mama seasoning (yes, that's really it's name).

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of dried black-eyed peas
• 4-5 slices of bacon, chopped
• 6 ounces sliced, smoked sausage, we've used about half of a Hillshire farms smoked sausage. We cut it into about 1/8-1/4 inch coins and then cut them in quarters
• 1 onion, diced
• 1-2 stalks of celery, diced
• 2-3 cloves of minced garlic (feel free to add more if you wish)
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1-2 teaspoons of Creole seasoning (there are many types out on the market. We like Slap Ya Mama). If you don't want to go out and buy Creole seasoning, you can make a little homemade concoction with paprika, garlic and onion powders, dried thyme and oregano, cayenne pepper along with some salt and pepper. Don't make it hard, just sprinkle in the seasonings that you like.
• 7-8 cups of chicken broth
• 2 cups (or more) chopped collard greens. If you have more on hand, feel free to use more. If you don't have a full 2 cups on hand, just use what you have.

Instructions:

1. Rinse the black-eyed peas  and soak in cold water overnight. Drain them in a colandar.
2. Use a large, heavy pot to prepare this dish. We have an old second-hand Club aluminum pot that we tend to use for dishes like this one.
3. Saute the bacon until cooked and then add in the sausage until it is thoroughly heated through. Remove the sausage and bacon and set aside until later.
4. Saute the onions, celery, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf in the bacon/sausage grease until the onions are translucent. Your kitchen will be smelling pretty good now.
5. Add in the chicken broth.
6. Place the drained black-eyed peas in the pot and add in the Creole seasoning. For a little added heat, you can sprinkle in a little extra cayenne pepper (about 1/4 teaspoon or so). Cook until the beans are nearly tender, about 20 minutes or so. Remove the bay leaf at this point.
7. Stir in the chopped collard greens along with the reserved bacon and sausage. Cook until the greens are well-cooked and the black-eyed peas are tender.
8. Adjust seasonings as desired.
9. Enjoy as a side with barbecue or over rice as a stand-alone dish.