Chicken Spinach Bacon Rice Casserole

Grief and pain are no respecter of the calendar. I'm struggling this week during a time of year I should be helping my children pull together Halloween costumes and organizing my son's class party. Instead, my mind is occupied by thoughts of friends struggling with real-life crises and unforeseeable events. Just the other day I learned of the sudden passing of a dad in my former neighborhood, leaving behind a family of four children under the age of six years old and his wife. He died earlier this week - random and unexpected. Then, another friend shared the financial burden of being a single mom of three children just learning she may not be receiving any more child support. She works full-time, but her ex-husband is unable to contribute because he is unemployed.

I realize tragedy and bad things happen every day to people all around me, but the closer it hits home, the heavier the burden I have. I want to do something to make those hurting around me feel better, knowing fully well there is really very little I can do to ease the grief or suffering.  However, as someone who has gone through her fair share of unforeseeable tragedy, I do know that loving acts of kindness can lift spirits, even if only for a moment.

Today I am sharing a recipe for Chicken Spinach Bacon Rice Casserole. I made this today for a friend to give her a night off from having to cook dinner for herself and her children. Handing off the dinner at a softball game in a brown paper grocery bag, there is no expectation for us to discuss the details of what's going on in her life. Instead, if it helps her to breathe a sigh of relief from having to cook for one night, I've done what I can. To offer a hand of help, show a little compassion, and to feed the souls of the weary in times of need can never be underestimated. It is an expression of caring that can lift the human spirit and provide some reprieve, which we can all use in times of trouble.