Pizza for the Pitiful (03/22/2026)

Monday was the blizzard, and I spent hours throughout the day trying to clear my porch of snow so I could sit outside as usual. Tuesday, I woke up with a horrible case of what we used to call “the crud.” It’s that upper respiratory virus that makes one cough so deeply it rattles one’s socks. That day my water heater also went out, so a warm soothing shower was out of the question. Wednesday the water heater repair man came and couldn’t fix the hot water heater and my cough worsened. Thursday the part came, the water heater was fixed for a few hours. I took a shower.  Then it broke again. Friday, I started to feel a little bit of relief. I slept through the night. The water heater was finally fixed. I was thinking “I can do this. Saturday, I woke up with a cold on top of “the crud.” And I sank into “pitiful.”

Yesterday, it wasn’t hard to find me for two reasons: I only moved from my chair to go to the bathroom and then came right back and between my cough and my sneezing and my nose blowing, even a blind man on a galloping horse could have zeroed in on my location. I not only made a rock look busy, I made a rock look happy. I was pitiful. I realize that now.

And then it happened. My husband, Ken, made me pizza. It’s his specialty. And I felt seen. I felt heard. I felt nurtured. I felt cared for. I felt loved. Yep, it’s a pretty special pizza from a pretty special guy. And then he sat in his chair beside my chair, and we watched a movie together.

And as the pizza settled, so did so many other things. And as I pondered my day prayerfully, I thought of my husband’s loving gesture, and it reminded me of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples on the seashore after his death and resurrection. They were so dejected. They were lost. “Come and have breakfast,” He told them as he stood on the shore by a fire with fresh fish cooking. Jesus had used food in His outreach to others before, not just this time. There were the loaves and fishes that multiplied to feed thousands. And we can’t forget the last supper or the meal shared with the two disciples after the walk to Emmaus.

I found myself realizing as I pondered the LORD’s provisions for me along the way to yesterday. Sometimes it was with food, sometimes with grace, sometimes with companions, sometimes just with the sense of not being alone. And I thanked the LORD for yesterday and all the days that led to it and for Kenneth’s pizza for me in my most pitiful state.

As we continue our journeys of faith, hope and love, especially during this Lenten period, let us seek to set down ourselves, or as Jesus would say, “deny” ourselves, and pick up our crosses and follow Him. And while we are keeping our eyes on Him, let us also be aware of those around us and their needs as our Savior would. This journey isn’t just about making it to the end, it’s also about learning to love as Jesus did along the way.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.