A Relationship With Food

The following is an excerpt from a letter written today, describing my life to a long-lost friend...

I am still an active volunteer at our church, mainly by feeding the flock. I prepare dinner every Wednesday evening as a part of our mid-week choir practices and Bible studies. I also cook for the Senior Luncheon once or twice a month. You can often find me cooking, again, at many of the special meals throughout the year. My next special event will be a Valentine Luncheon for the seniors (about 120) that I have been doing for that last few years. I led a Disciple 4 class a few years ago, and found that very spiritually challenging and fulfilling, but I seem to gravitate back to the kitchen.



Some may think that being stuck in the kitchen is not much of a ministry….but I disagree….that is where God has called me to be and that is where I am. Did you ever notice how many stories in both the Old and New Testaments involve God’s people gathered for a meal? Our Wednesday evening program was all but dead two years ago. God told me to go in and cook dinner, no matter if people could pay or not. Providing a meal seems like such a small thing but it has been huge. Existing classes grew in size, more classes were added. This year they began programming for children and middle school children. We accept donations on an honor system but I welcome all to eat, even the few indigent people that occasionally appear. I know that other people are not thrilled about that….but, oh well. I don’t recall the scripture that says “Feed my sheep, but only if they can pay”. In the end, it’s all good. Everyone gets fed on Wednesday, spiritually and physically, and our dinners have become self-supporting.


People often drift into the kitchen to thank me….but really I thank them! It would feel hopeless if I cooked and no one showed up. Some people think it is a burden for me….but I don’t look at it that way at all. Wednesday is my favorite day of the week, and my time in the kitchen feels more like a blessing to me. I feel God’s love pouring though me and then on to others. I operate an “open kitchen” and people of all ages come and hang out in the kitchen, help, talk, laugh, share their struggles, express ideas, share their faith, etc. Sometimes I am feeding more than their stomachs, and always they are feeding my soul!

....this reminds me of an antecdote from many years ago...

My husband would come home from work most summer evenings to find all of the neighborhood children and most of their mothers playing and visiting in our front yard. Parents of young children, a new mortgage, and still paying off school loans, we were on a tight budget with little left over for "extras". Often I was dolling out snacks to the children. Most mothers would bring a treat to be shared by all every now and then, but a few never contributed anything. Once, as we came into the house, my husband sternly and somewhat sarcastically asked me "Do you have to always feed everyone in the neighborhood?" I looked him and answered "Yes, as a matter of fact I do!" He calmed down....and it was the last time he ever complained about my compulsion to feed people. Through the years, he has cheerfully and financially supported my "need to feed", has been gracious about my time spent away from the family, and welcomed an unending parade of unexpected dinner guests that show up at the dinner table.

.....just a few thoughts on my ongoing relationship with food.