Donuts and scripture

Let me tell you a story…

   Recently, I got a call saying that my brother was in the hospital after falling out of bed in the middle of the night and was unresponsive. Things didn’t look good. My brother has a history of cardiovascular troubles that have plagued him for the past several years. We were told we should come immediately to be with him in case things didn’t get any better. My nephew had gotten the same call, so we decided to drive down together in my nephew’s car since we were all going, to save from having to book flights or spend the fuel for the 8 or so hour trip in a second car. My daughter Lilly decided she wanted to come along because, though she knows that side of the family, she doesn’t know them well and has never been to the area that I grew up in.

  After a long day of driving, and arriving late in the evening, we arrived at my brother and sister-in-law’s home. Visiting hours were over in the unit that my brother was being treated in, so we decided to rest there for the night and get to the hospital the following morning.

  The morning came, and on our way to spend our day at the hospital, we decided to stop in for a quick bit of something to eat on the way. It had to be Southern Maid Donuts. I remember as a kid and teenager, craving these donuts. There was, and still is, nothing like them in the world of donuts. Sure, you can get all sorts of gas station donuts, or even some pretty radical donuts, some so much fancier than they need to be. Some places even smother your donut in things such as bacon, maple syrup or perhaps your favorite veggie inspired topping that doesn’t make sense. But the classic, regular, glazed donuts from my childhood just melt in your mouth and are so sweet and filling, you don’t need anything more to satisfy that craving!

  I remember that the 3 of us decided that surely, we couldn’t just get one box of a dozen among us, so we got 3! Part way to the hospital, I realized that Lilly, who is the most “selective eater” in our family, was in the back seat literally eating a box all by herself! I told her how when I was younger, we didn’t have much at all, but that these donuts were a sweet spot for me. Now as an adult they are something that, by mere taste, can bring me back to a happy memory in my childhood. In a childhood filled with trouble and tragedy, I remember being able to eat one of these melt-in-your- mouth treats and just for a moment, escape, and just enjoy the sweet, filling comfort of a Southern Maid donut. No, it wasn’t the cure to all my problems or anything, but it certainly was a short, quick retreat.

  I have lost this in my life, unfortunately, since I moved to the Nashville TN area and don’t have close access to Southern Maid any longer. There are similar things, maybe, but no treat satisfies like an original a Southern Maid Donut for me!

  The same is to be said about me for scripture. During my troubled youth, I was exposed to the Bible and was taught the basic Sunday school stories, but when life got rough, I didn’t understand how to lean on the Word as I should have. I wasn’t IN the Word, or studying the Word, just hoping things would get better on their own. After many years of struggle, and fighting to keep my head above water, it has finally been my submission to The Word that has been my ultimate comforter. Truly reading and learning what is written in the Bible is guiding me in life.

  Like the donuts, I remember those sweet moments of retreat - going to a random Sunday school class, or a conversation with a friend about the Gospel - and seeing just a glimpse of hope. But it was my self-dependence that kept me turning back to my own ways and believing that I could do this all on my own. Obviously, I was wrong and that fact was proven time and time again!

  These days, I spend the bulk of my morning pouring over scripture. It is the sweetest breakfast for me every day! I spend my time studying to make connections between the Old Testament and New Testament. I’ve been following the thread between the Old Testament history, the prophecy, the stories of deliverance and triumph and the New Testament stories and the fulfillment of the law by Jesus. Living in the promise of salvation is the most fulfilling part of my life and nothing can ever compare to the peace that it gives me every day! While studying through the Gospel of Luke, I am learning the importance of the structure and detail of the Gospels. How the Gospels tell the exact same story, from different perspectives. The consistency between them tells the proven, memorable truth that is clarified the more you study them together along with the Prophecy leading to them.

  My sweet Lilly recently decided to email the Southern Maid Donuts Company to try to order me a T-shirt or a hoodie as a Birthday gift to commemorate the love and memories I shared with her, but they don’t offer them for sale. Whoever answered her email said that they didn’t offer them but asked for my physical address. A couple days ago, a package with 2 employee T-shirts arrived for me and she was so excited that she couldn’t wait for my birthday to give them to me! It was an incredibly sweet gesture from them, and we are both very grateful.

  As far as my brother is concerned, he is still with us and recovering. We spent a week sitting with and praying over him as he laid there under sedation while the doctors tried to figure out what happened and what to do from there. He will continue to have some struggles, but they have a plan in place.  

  To Southern Maid donuts, thank you for being a consistent treat of memory for my childhood, and never changing, so that I can keep lasting memories alive.

  There is NOTHING and never will be anything, more satisfying than the consumption of the Word of God and applying it to your life daily to bring yourself closer to the Creator.

Ethan Pierce, just a guy

Nashville TN