FRIED APPLES

 It had been several years since I had a desire to have fried apples for breakfast,  but this morning for some reason I just had to have some. I peeled them,  placed them in my butter, and waited for them to cook.  AS they were cooking,  I couldn't help but go back in time to my Mama's kitchen.  Many mornings she had called me to breakfast consisting of fried apples,  homemade bisquits, and fresh cut bacon or ham.  Her kitchen would be filled with  aroma of  bacon frying in an old iron skillet.  We would talk for hours, nothing special, just sharing a little time out of our day.  It was a precious time for me.

I have tried many times to make Mama's fried apples,  but to no avail.  They never taste as sweet as the ones we shared so many years ago. Today as I was preparing to sit down to my plate of food,  my heart felt sad.  As I tasted those apples I had been craving, tears filled my eyes. They were not as good as my MAMA'S FRIED APPLES...so it was then that I realized...it wasn't about the fried apples at all... it was about how much I was missing my Mama.  I miss the talks we had early in the morning.  I miss the sound of her voice.  I miss the smile on her face, and the laughter echoing back at us.  I can hardly believe that all of this is just a memory...because the pictures and sounds in my head are so vivid. It is a movie I play often...because once again I can be  a little girl in my Mama's house,  eating my Mama's cooking,  and sharing again a moment in our day.

                                      Dear Lord,  Today I feel stirrings from home. I feel a pain in my heart...it is called lonliness. Sometimes I want to talk to my Mama about the cares of my soul, but she is no where around.  Lord,  I know that she is sitting at your table, sharing her morning...so Lord,  can you tell her I miss her,  and that FRIED APPLES will never taste as sweet as when they were made by her loving hands.