THE BANANA BREAD LEGACY | What My Mother-in-Law's Recipe Box Taught Me About Love

My mother-in-law Barb left earth in a leopard nightie and woke up fully clothed in glory. 

Whatever her attire, she was our family's queen, leading us with love from her kitchen table throne. 

After her departure, I was feeling empty. So, I searched her cupboards for the secret to her well-lived life. 

I found the answer tucked in a sturdy, pinewood recipe box. 

Anyone with a good recipe can change someone's world. 

A few weeks before Barb went to Heaven, she received a call from my 3-year-old granddaughter. Actually, it was more like a demand. 

"Banana bread." 

Translated in toddler-speak, "Banana bread" meant, "Please keep doing that special thing you do and bring it to me." 

GiGi Barb's banana bread was always warm, sprinkled with sugar, and served up with a smile. 

She brought a loaf with her wherever she went and made extra to keep in the freezer, just in case someone needed a little love. 

We can all be remembered like that. 

Everyone has a recipe they've perfected—that "go-to" thing that sweetens the atmosphere, that thing only you can do that has everyone licking up crumbs. 

Maybe it's your humor or calm demeanor. Maybe you bring the sunshine or ignite a certain spark. Maybe you're a good listener or ask thoughtful questions that make others feel seen. 

Will you share your recipe?

Barb’s well-used Banana Bread recipe. She always made a double-batch.

Barb’s recipe was tried and true. The ingredients were listed in faded blue ink weathered with time, but you’d never know it by the way she carried herself into a room.

 It's not what's in our cupboards that matters. 

We meet people's deepest needs from the good stored up in our hearts. When we feast on God's goodness, we always have enough. When we give generously from what we have, somehow, the good Lord gives us more. 

A lasting legacy doesn't have to be left on a silver platter. A flimsy paper plate will do just fine.

Because we're all really God's special recipe served up to love. 

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)

So, keep whipping up that banana bread for your people. Bring it into every room and life you enter. Offer a taste of God’s goodness to everyone you meet until you wake up fully clothed in glory.

And if you don’t own leopard pajamas, go buy some today.

In loving honor of Barbara M. White, aka "Hot Barb"

November 6, 1940 - August 30, 2025

(To learn more about Barb, listen to two songs about her life HERE - “Momma After All” and “Broken Lilacs” , written by Chuck White and Morgan Cryar.)