Soul Food
Soul Food by Jenny Wendel
The kitchen table is more than just a piece of furniture.
It is a place of gathering.
It can be casual, where I sit alone in the light of the sun and make plans for my day while watching the steam escape from my favorite mug. The view from our kitchen windows calms my mind and soul and brings me peace no matter the season.
This table is sometimes a place where my husband and I steal away for a quiet lunch alone to catch up on a random Friday when the kids are all in school.
But mostly, at my house, it is a place of sweet communion in the evenings after a long day of school and work and chores. My absolute favorite moments are when everyone is under the same roof, and we are all enjoying something yummy together that we created right in our own kitchen. It’s an added bonus when one of the kids or my husband goes out of their way to tell me how much they enjoyed it or how great it tastes-that seriously swells my heart!
While I would love to say our conversation is always pleasant, everyone has excellent table manners, and we take turns sharing about our day…that is rarely how it looks. But I wouldn’t trade this time for anything in the whole world. This is when I get to see my kids truly smile. I enjoy hearing about the upcoming math test, tomorrow’s Biology homework, or the boyfriend who isn’t a boyfriend anymore-even if they talk over each other and half of the time I can’t hear everything. Because our house is a little heavier on the girl side (out of the 8 people in our home, there are 6 females and 2 males…poor guys, slightly outnumbered) our conversations are sometimes on the dramatic side, but we can never be accused of not having enough spirit around here- that’s for sure! My husband and I spend a lot of time teaching life skills around some mashed potatoes, noodles, and rice! I hope when our children are grown, they remember the love they felt here. I hope the lessons that we tried to teach-and the conversations that unexpectedly led to even more important life lessons-stuck in some way…even if they roll their eyes when we talk about jobs and college and doing more chores because it is preparing them for adulthood.
The youngest always wants to pray, and her prayers usually include the phrases, “...and thank you, God, for the boat ride, and eating with us and drinking juice with us…”
It’s cute when she says it, and everyone talks about how much she must love the boat rides because she’s been thanking him for that for over a year now, but it is humbling to think that God really does eat with us. Maybe not by pulling up a seat and making a plate, but He is with us at our table. He is a part of our conversations, and the connections we feel with one another are greatly in part because of Him.
Sometimes we get redirected.
Sometimes we feel the pain they are going through
as they share their life situations.
Sometimes we laugh uncontrollably.
I think I can speak for most of us most of the time when I say we leave the table full
-both our stomachs and our hearts.
Outside of my immediate family, I have hosted guests in my home: extended family, friends, and life groups. Every time I think back to the moments spent at this table, I find joy and smile at the memories we made.
The story of Jesus breaking bread at his last supper with his disciples, the men who had spent so much time with him, who loved him, always brings a feeling of intimacy and sorrow because I imagine Jesus, knowing what the future held for him, needed that moment to be close to his friends and share his body and blood in a totally different way.
One of the first things Jesus did for Peter and the others after his resurrection was stand on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in the morning sunlight and summon them for breakfast around a fire.
There’s something about the time together, sharing food around a table, that is more than just nourishing for our bodies, it is actually food for our souls.
