Sabbath: A Biblical Approach to Nourishing Friends and FamilySample

The delivery of a meal isn’t just about the provision of food. It isn’t just the physical act of feeding someone; it is relief from the decisions required to buy, prep, and serve food. It’s the trip to the store that doesn’t have to be made. It is the food, but it’s so much more.

My friend Susy, a fellow writer and another mountain girl, recently dropped off some homemade enchiladas, a bagged salad, and the world’s most divine peach pie. While we had food at our house, I also had a book deadline, and the “food” at our house was in the form of ingredients requiring decisions and time regarding how they would be made into meals. What Susy provided was not just food, but enough food to cover:

3 meals

3 sets of decisions

3 redeemed hours (between shopping, deciding, cooking, baking, and dishes)

20 minutes of visiting at our house (and because she knew I was on a deadline, only 20 minutes)

What a gift it is to be cared for and strengthened! That’s what a meal does for a body; it strengthens it. And the act of sharing a meal also strengthens the body of people, the community we are lucky to be part of. An act of Sabbath love is to extend the possibility for rest and ease to others.

When life is hard and I’m left to my own devices, a healthy, hearty meal is the last thing on my mind. But, when I’m cooking for someone else, I try to pay extra attention to not only making sure that the meal is well-balanced (and by well-balanced, I mean vegetables, yes, and also something sweet to put a small smile on their face) but also that there is enough food so that my people can feel full.

And, in the process, we are not just feeding the people we love, but we are ensuring that they feel cared for and loved.

Prayer

Lord, may my home be a place of warmth and joy — because You are with me and go before me.

May all who eat at this table be reminded of Your constant provision in this season and the seasons to follow.

Amen.