How To Hug A Porqupine . . .

“An aged grandmother, who never attended school, once gave her grand daughter a slip of paper with all the advice she would ever need to lead a good life. What she wrote is valuable for all of us: Wash what is dirty. Water what is dry. Heal what is wounded. Warm what is cold. Guide what goes off the road. And, love people who are the least lovable, because they need it the most.” ~Unknown

Very sound advice indeed, and . . . very profound and full of great insight for an uneducated woman. Especially the last bit. I would say that loving the unlovable is pretty much akin to hugging a porcupine, difficult to do, but not entirely impossible.



I once had a friend, (and am glad to say still do) that was a very difficult person to be friends with, let alone to love. It didn’t matter what you did, she was always bristling and full of complaints. Not only that, she was very demanding and hard to get along with. One day she would be as sweet as pie and the next as cantankerous as could be. It was almost as if she would push you away the minute you started to get close to her, and she was constantly wanting you to prove that you were her friend by being so very difficult to get along with, and seeing if you stuck around. Not many people stuck around her for long, and indeed, I was asked many times how on earth did I put up with her. Many of her friends came and went, hardly any stayed for long, but every once in a while, I would catch a glimpse of the person she could have been had she only let herself be that person, and I just could not abandon her, no matter how many times I felt like doing just that!

I never gave up on her. I persevered on the strength of that person I caught occasional glimpses of. I just shrugged it off when she was difficult or insulting, and I enjoyed the moments that she wasn’t. Through it all though, I prayed for her . . . daily. Even after we moved away and I wasn’t living in the same location as her anymore, and never got to see her, I prayed for her. And I wrote her letters. Little chatty letters filled up with the things I was doing and little stories of faith. I rarely, if ever, heard back, but it didn’t matter to me. I just always wanted her to know that, no matter what, I loved her. I kept hugging her, although distant, and letting her know that I was hugging her.



One day though, I did get a reply. One cannot imagine the joy I felt to read her words. It seems that she had been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, and that she had finally been able to get the medication she had needed for a very long time. She was finally living the life she was meant to live . . . finally able to be the person that she was meant to be. She thanked me very much for all the support and love and the prayers I had given her through the years, and told me how much it had meant to her that I had been one of the few who had never given up on her. We remain good friends to this day, and she is a true gem in my life. Gold . . . pure gold.

I was so glad when I read her words that day. Glad that I had persevered and never given up on her. Glad that she had been able to get the help she had so obviously needed for so very long. Grateful for a friendship that had spanned several decades and grown and developed into something that was most precious to me. I had hugged a porcupine and gained a priceless friend.



Luke 6:28 says “Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” I have a testimony that these words are very true, and that . . . it is quite impossible not to love someone for whom you are praying. In fact, I highly recommend it!

Lemon has to be one of my most favourite flavours and I could easily devour anything that is the least bit lemon flavoured. I was thrilled when last week's Make Me Bake poll ended up with the Lemon Cupcakes as having been the chosen recipe. You all made me very happy, although Todd was a bit disappointed as he is not fond of lemon anything, but what the hey! Sometimes you got to take a little bad with the good! I put a new poll up yesterday, so go on and have a look and vote for your favourite, and in the mean time, enjoy these little delights! (I know I sure did! NO, I did not eat all 12 by myself. Todd had a few as well, even if he still says he doesn't really like lemon . . . it didn't stop him from eating and enjoying them anyways!)



*Lemon Cupcakes*
Makes 12

I love cupcakes. They are like eensy teensy little baby cakes just big enough for one, and who doesn't like a cake that screams "Just for You!" These ones are exceptional. Moist and lemony, with a tiny secret tucked inside.

1/2 cup butter at room temperature
3 ounces of cream cheese
1 TBs grated fresh lemon zest
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
7/8 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp lemon extract

1/2 cup lemon curd to fill

Frosting:
2 TBS butter
3 ounces cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp lemon extract

Pre-heat the oven to 160*C/325*F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Beat in the sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each one fully before adding the next.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add gradually to the creamed mixture, beating on low speed until just combined. Divide the resulting batter equally amongst the muffin cups.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they are lightly browned and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, removing them from the pan, and placing them on a wire rack.

When they are completely cooled, make a little hole in the top of each and down into the centre. Fill each hole with about a tsp of lemon curd.

Beat all the frosting ingredients together until light and fluffy and smooth. Spread frosting evenly over each cupcake to cover the hole you made. Decorate as you wish and serve.



This post was originally posted back in October of 2007 on my Muses. I hope you enjoyed it and for those of you who had already read it, I hope you didn't mind reading it again!