Well Fed

Mmmmm . . . have you ever had one of Mom’s wonderful Sunday dinners? Roast, potatoes, carrots, corn, salad, homemade rolls, fresh brewed sweet tea, and some kind of yummy dessert. (I liked it best if chocolate was somehow involved!) Honestly, there just isn’t anything like it! And . . . served on the “good china” with enough salt and pepper shakers to go around . . . does anyone but me remember that? Oh, yes, the food was good for the body . . . but the love shared around that table . . . itt was good for the soul.

Once I had a friend who decided the best route to take for her family was to use everything organic. Her daughter told me it was not only organic food, but even organic clothes and sheets! Some of the food was so awful tasting, the children wouldn’t even eat it. It might have been good for their bodies, but simply not very palatable. Getting our families fed right these days can truly be a challenge. From all the “preservatives” in the foods that fit our hectic lifestyles, to simply keeping enough milk until morning . . . we all strive to meet the challenge of keeping our children fed and healthy.

When it comes to signs of malnutrition, in the physical sense, they are sometimes easily spotted, but often they aren’t as easily detected in spirit and soul. We as parents need to be “proactive” on the spiritual side of things. Just like there has to be food on the table in order for the family to be fed, we constantly need to be feeding on the “Bread of Life” to make sure they are spiritually provided for. Our responsibility as parents doesn’t stop with physical provision, or unconditional love. What is our passion? Do they know how much we love Jesus – love His house – love His Word? See, we can’t “bake the bread” if the “flour canister is empty.” And we can’t feed the hungry if we have no bread to give them.

It was family retreat, and breakfast was over. The sunshine beckoned, and the calls of our children on the swings took my friend, Sharene, and me out the door of the eating area and into the spacious lawn. As the children kept swinging -- we pushed, laughed, and talked. I could not help thinking, as she shared, what an inspiration she was.

It was not hard to tell what her focus was – it all bubbled over readily -- Jesus, and her family. Her words poured over my spirit with the radiance of the sun around me. She said, “Just think. When God said, ‘Let there be light,’ He could already see the cross.” He knew, and He created us anyway. She was passing out bread, because deep in her spirit, it was baked and ready. She was feeding not only her own, but those who were around her.

In John 6:35, “Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’” When our souls are “well fed” we are able to feed our children with fresh, healthy, spiritual bread. Feeding on Jesus, our Bread of Life, is the best way to assure our families of absolutely awesome, nutritious, wonderful tasting, spiritual meals. He’s the Bread, He’s the Water – and with the sweet taste of His Presence, who needs a dessert?

Written by: Janene A. Dubbeld/FGG

Take it with You

“ . . . Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4b