April 12 ~ Ecclesiastes 4:6
Yet a very little food eaten in peace is better than twice as much earned from overwork and chasing the wind.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Back in the 1980’s, when my grandparents, our dads, my brother, cousins and other relatives were still alive, we used to have fairly regular family dinners. Any day was a holiday somewhere, so from impromptu weiner roasts at one of the Corps parks on a Sunday afternoon to elaborate potlucks at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and more… we loved to get together and eat. We worked hard to prepare food. I think back to my childhood and my mom’s Christmas morning breakfasts – cookies for us kids and bacon and eggs with all the trimmings for the “menfolk” – followed a mere four hours later with the lavish turkey lunch and all the accompanying side dishes. I wonder, “What was she thinking, and how did she and my grandmothers and the other adult women in the family do this?” When I became an adult, it was all I could do to prepare my two or three potluck dishes and get to the lunch on time! Forget breakfast – we were lucky to get a piece of toast!
So one time, my mom had a rather spur-of-the-moment family get-together, and instead of a big hoopie-do dinner, she fixed tuna fish and pimiento cheese sandwiches. I think someone made some brownies or something, and another made baked beans, and we all got together and ate what was, for us, a simple meal. But the fellowship and the visiting was just as good… maybe even better. Instead of spending an hour dividing up leftovers and putting away food and washing dishes, we spent more time as a group having fun and reminiscing. We were not overworked and chasing the wind. As my cousin Eddie left Mom’s house he said, “You know… this was great! We don’t have to have a fancy meal, but it sure was good to get together.”
Now that much of my family is gone or scattered across multiple cities/states, we find it very hard to get together. I honestly couldn’t even tell you the last time either my extended family or my husband’s was together long enough to share a meal where everyone was there. For a lot of reasons, it seems it has become very hard for us to throw together some pimiento cheese or tuna fish and a loaf of bread, so to speak, and say, “Come on over!”
Let’s look at this from a Christian perspective… how hard would it be to toss on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and head to church to worship God on Sunday morning? I promise, He doesn’t care if you’re wearing designer clothing or thrift shop rejects. When was the last time you dropped everything to go see about a friend who was sick or in need? You might have to miss a TV show (although with DVR, that’s highly improbable these days) – or you might have to get out of your sweats and put on something a little nicer, but that wouldn’t be the end of the world, would it?! When was the last time you picked up the phone and called someone you’ve meant to talk to for a long time… or stopped in to see the shut-in whose house you drive past every day?
How long has it been since you slowed down and stopped chasing the wind, and enjoyed the peace of God that fellowship and sharing His love with others bring? Isn’t it about time we all did just that?
©2010 Debbie Robus
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