Yummy and Blessed

Mary’s Monday Musing to Quilt Encouragement
Yummy and blessed

“Jack Sprat would eat no fat, and his wife would eat no lean. And so, betwixt them both, they licked the platter clean.” This is an ancient nursery rhyme that I thoroughly enjoyed as a child. It perfectly explained that people with different food taste could enjoy a meal together. As a mom I wasn’t so sure. Trying to serve economic meals with well-balanced nutrition wasn’t so simple if also dealing with different likes and dislikes of family members. When entertaining adults, it’s always easier if each person can enjoy all sorts of foods with few dislikes. Have you had the experience of smacking your lips with exclamations of delight over a mouthful of a delicious food and polishing off your plate with enthusiasm only to find out, to your surprise, some of your dinner companions didn’t enjoy their meal at all? Imagine trying to find menu choices to please hundreds of different people. The job of dieticians and chefs in large places such as hospitals, military bases, or retirement homes must present quite the challenge.

A meal shared with others is a real privilege, especially when it’s accompanied with enjoyable conversation. Our prolonged time of social distancing during the pandemic brought home the fact that eating with others is one of the great joys of family life and of friendships. Rather than focusing on our dislikes like Jack Sprat and his wife, for certain aspects of our meals, try to make mealtime a time of joy by talking about topics of mutual interest. If there are children at your table, use this time, to teach them how to discuss, enjoy laughter, and build each other up in conversation. These skills will help them all their lives. If you are dining with friends or acquaintances, you don’t know as well, focus on drawing out your guests’ activities and interests. Everyone is blessed when all can contribute to the table conversation. Stories about previous experiences and individual activities provide interest and develop good connections. Ask God to open doors for us to make our mealtimes pleasant and profitable for our relationships with others.