Food for Thought
What’s your favorite restaurant food? I like to think I’m a connoisseur of eggplant Parmesan, and I know which restaurants make it best. Some foods are not easily duplicated at home; nor is the presentation. But before we turn cooking over to the professionals or opt for a steady diet of prepared food, it’s notable that even some of the restaurants and marketers are making their appeal with labels like “home-style,” “home-made,” and “Like Home.”
In most cultures, sharing food is what we do when we want to connect with family and friends. It’s relational and when it’s in the family home, it’s personal and intimate. Home offers a venue that can’t be duplicated by the restaurants. Home is where the family gathers, each having his/her place at the table.
Nearly fifty years ago in a more frugal era, before cell phones and other electronic intrusions into family life, in her book, “The Hidden Art of Homemaking,” Edith Schaeffer wrote: “There is no occasion when meals should become totally unimportant. Meals can be very small indeed, very inexpensive, short times taken in the midst of a big push of work, but they should be always more than just food. Relaxation, communication and a measure of beauty and pleasure should be part of even the shortest of meal breaks. Of course you celebrate special occasions—successes of various family members, birthdays, good news, answered prayer, happy moments—with special attention to meal preparation and serving. But, we should be just as careful to make the meal interesting and appealing when the day is gray and the news disappointing. Children feel the difference in the home that takes this attitude.”
My neighbor Vicki’s story struck a chord with me, confirming the truth of Mrs. Schaeffer’s remarks. As Vicki walked into the family kitchen after school one day to find a beautiful frosted multi-layered chocolate cake on the kitchen counter, her first question was, “Who died?” Oh, my! Admittedly, often my best efforts have been for others rather than for the people I love the most.
As I think back on our family table of four, I’m not sure that our meal times were always a thing of beauty. I do recall my son’s assessments of one of the meals I served the family:
“… the dinner is beige.” (A little paprika or parsley would have helped a menu of cauliflower, a baked potato and pork chop.) And the conversation wasn’t always uplifting, but I think our sons knew home was a safe place to be honest; we could tune in to what they were thinking, and occasionally share a parent’s perspective.
It took me a while to appreciate the hidden message in my son John’s protests when I first started using the microwave. His objections had nothing to do with free radicals, but he seemed to feel that he was being short-changed by the short cuts. Apparently the time I spent cooking was an expression of my love of him; and less effort meant less care and thought. Obviously, I had been serving up more than just food. What are you serving up at your table and to whom?
Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20)
