Italian Feast - Barbara Parentini

“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12 NKJV

With our Italian Feast only two days away, I brimmed with excitement. My love of Italian food and my husband’s old-world roots made all the efforts a pleasure. For weeks, I’d planned every detail, from the mouth-watering Italian cuisine, gracious table settings for ten, edible centerpiece with grape leaves, to dessert toothpicks that waved Italy’s colorful flag. Just reading our guest list made me want to sing out their lyrical names.

While sketching a seating diagram at the table, the phone rang. My husband asked if salad was on the menu. A faint sigh betrayed my hip pain, and he kindly dismissed it. Shortly after his call, I returned to the kitchen and quickly prepared his favorite salad. As I dried my hands, a second call came through, but before I could say hello, a thunderous crash echoed through the house. I flew out of the kitchen toward the dining room, and gasped at the devastating sight.

There on the ironwood table lay our massive wall mirror, shattered razor-sharp pieces of glass strewn. across the carpet. Frozen in my sock feet, slivers glistened in the eerie silence. I shuttered to think how close I had come to being struck by the mirror; and of our dear friends who would’ve met catastrophe had the mirror fallen while we dined.

I was overcome with joy and gratitude. I praised God over and over that He had once again protected me: my husband’s timely call, the nudge of the Holy Spirit to honor my husband’s wishes; and for the prayer covering on our Italian Feast.

The next day after a crew carefully removed the broken mirror and cleaned the chairs and carpet, the wall looked barren and unsightly. Without the reflection of light from the mirror, the beauty of the room diminished. Later, I saw the crystal cross that overlooks the dining room reflecting soft afternoon light. God had shown up.

He has always been there when I’ve fallen face down, broken by shattered dreams. There will be other dinners planned, and a new mirror hung but I have the assurance that God is always watching –always in control. When we offer our efforts to Him, He always shows up to bring the light. Walk in the light, for He is the light.


Barbara Parentini, a native Ohioan, fell in love with the South when we she attended Warren Wilson College deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Retired from her career as a registered nurse since a life-changing accident in 2003, her stories are published in Amazing Faith, One Year Life Verse Devotional, Daily Devotions for Writers, and Hugs Bible Reflections for Women, (Howard Books, July, 2009). Her beautiful card line, Soaring Hearts, is being enjoyed by women across America. Barbara and her husband, Brian, live in North Carolina.