For Those Who Serve
I read a statistic that said the average person spends 16 months of their life in the bathroom.
I want to know how long one spends in the kitchen!
It must be measured in decades!
I am always in the kitchen, either stocking it, or preparing a meal, than cleaning up from that meal, than cooking again, cleaning, stocking, cooking. . .
Why is it that the sink always has dishes in it? Always! I go to bed at night and everything (sometimes) is bright and shiny and little gremlins come in and by the time everyone is off to school in the morning the kitchen looks like a war zone of breakfast bowls and juice boxes, trash pulled out of the lunch bags that was left from yesterday (are there no garbage cans at school?) and knives with smears of butter and jelly and peanut butter. It’s incredible how much food stuff goes on in the first hour of a school day. It’s intense.
For as much time I spend in preparing food for others, I spend little of that eating. While I will chop and grate and mix and sauté for you I tend to grab a bite for myself because I’m too busy cooking to stop and enjoy the food myself.
I found that true this morning with my Bible and journal. The feel of my Bible was not unfamiliar in the days that have passed but as I opened my prayer journal I realized it had been a while that I’d read the Bible for myself.
I’d been in God’s Word but much the same way I was in the kitchen this morning, preparing food for others, making it recognizable and palatable for a variety of appetites and tastes.
In a power point presentation to be visually inspiring,
in a discussion forum so as to introduce both seekers and young believers to the everyday relevance of the Scriptures,
through a children’s story to share the glory of an Everlasting God with those who do not even have the ability to reason abstractly.
I’ve made beautiful meals for everyone else yet I nibble on a verse here or there.
For us who serve, we must remember to also eat.
For we well know that if we do not eat, if we do not feed ourselves, we will soon find we will not have the strength to continue to prepare the Bread of Life for those who are hungry.
I want to know how long one spends in the kitchen!
It must be measured in decades!
I am always in the kitchen, either stocking it, or preparing a meal, than cleaning up from that meal, than cooking again, cleaning, stocking, cooking. . .
Why is it that the sink always has dishes in it? Always! I go to bed at night and everything (sometimes) is bright and shiny and little gremlins come in and by the time everyone is off to school in the morning the kitchen looks like a war zone of breakfast bowls and juice boxes, trash pulled out of the lunch bags that was left from yesterday (are there no garbage cans at school?) and knives with smears of butter and jelly and peanut butter. It’s incredible how much food stuff goes on in the first hour of a school day. It’s intense.
For as much time I spend in preparing food for others, I spend little of that eating. While I will chop and grate and mix and sauté for you I tend to grab a bite for myself because I’m too busy cooking to stop and enjoy the food myself.
I found that true this morning with my Bible and journal. The feel of my Bible was not unfamiliar in the days that have passed but as I opened my prayer journal I realized it had been a while that I’d read the Bible for myself.
I’d been in God’s Word but much the same way I was in the kitchen this morning, preparing food for others, making it recognizable and palatable for a variety of appetites and tastes.
In a power point presentation to be visually inspiring,
in a discussion forum so as to introduce both seekers and young believers to the everyday relevance of the Scriptures,
through a children’s story to share the glory of an Everlasting God with those who do not even have the ability to reason abstractly.
I’ve made beautiful meals for everyone else yet I nibble on a verse here or there.
For us who serve, we must remember to also eat.
For we well know that if we do not eat, if we do not feed ourselves, we will soon find we will not have the strength to continue to prepare the Bread of Life for those who are hungry.
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