Churches are made of really great people going through different phases of life. My church is no different. Just last Sunday, our membership grew by one little boy weighing 9 pounds something. This little guy is a brother to two others who would be waiting for dinner the night he came home. Baby brother’s are a fuss about nothing when the Biggers want to eat. Little’s can just nestle in their cribs and wait. Biggers need to eat.
Everyone at our church is cared for in time of need. Through the grapevine, people know who is sick, sad, or hungry. The storage pantry is the size of a small grocery store, stocked with everything from diapers to donuts. If someone comes in need, the church helps. It’s what we do.
Last month, the church pantry fed over 600 people on $300. Rather like the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fishes. Our pantry is open to anyone that needs food. Lovely and so needed in our small community during these hard times.
Last week, organized women got to work. The new baby was coming on Sunday at noon. Surgery had been scheduled for weeks. Mother and son would go home on Wednesday. The little family of six would need to be fed until Mom felt better after the “baby extraction procedure” as the Pastor called it to the delight of a church full of worship-ers. Volunteers would deliver a meal a day for one week.
A very persistent leader didn’t stop until she had seven volunteers. I took Wednesday evening.
My kitchen and I are friends some days and foes on others. I need to be in a real mood to cook something deliciously wonderful. The children, aged 3, 4, and 10 and their dad wouldn’t really care about French cuisine. They needed food for dinner. My go-to is always Subway. You can’t go wrong with a sandwich. Subway has kept me alive through some very tough days.
Standing at the counter, I had to be mindful that kids are fickle. What if turkey was the one thing they hated more than tuna? What if roast beef was worse than “abocado”? ABOCADO??? Avocado would be the kiss of death. In the end, I ordered three children’s meals and a footlong turkey (hold the onions for the breast feeding mama). Smother it all with ranch dressing. Add chocolate milk and cookies with a bag of chips on the side. A bag of apples for snacks. Call it dinner.
The Sandwich Architect smiled when I told her about the new family. I watched her as she added extra meat, veggies, and love to the meal. Not every day you get to prepare a feast for a special homecoming. She understood how special this meal was.
Dropping off the sandwiches at church, I mentioned to the Pastor that I was concerned the kids might not like the sandwiches.
“Ahhh. Not to worry. Mikey and Carl have an agreement. Mikey will eat the bread. Carl will eat the meat. Sadie will keep hers neat and tidy. Dad will be relieved that dinner isn’t something he needed to cook and mom will be grateful she’s off for the night. They make it work at their house.”
Smiling, I remembered back to the days when my kids were creative at meal time. Bless Mikey and Carl and their little agreement.
Brand new baby brother and the little family are settling in to their life as a six-pack. Everyone is doing well. Today is a new day. The way these women at the church cook, the family will get a home cooked meal with all the trimmings tonight.
How can you help someone today? Random acts of kindness make everyone appreciate their friends all the more. The world needs love this very moment.
More tomorrow.