Empty Calories

June 23, 2020

Quite often when I’m thinking about my evening’s musings, I come up blank. There’s plenty for which to be thankful, but like most people, there are times I feel flatlined. Nothing terrible has happened, but nothing spectacular, either. It’s just an ordinary day. Or is it? Maybe I’m just not looking in the right places. Lord knows, joy isn’t going to be found on any of the news channels, Facebook posts, or email notices. The big issues of the day are seldom the source of contentment. Those who spend a lot of time there don’t often smile. 

My gratitude calendar for today suggested three gifts found around a table. That narrows the focus considerably. I realize that for many people, the dinnertable is sadly, a contentious place when it should be a place where both body and soul are nourished. For Linda and me, the table is where we bare our souls. It is where we strive to build each other up. If we notice the conversation drifting towards the minefield of current events, one or the other of us will stop and say, “Let’s not go there,” not because we disagree, but because the subject is so disagreeable. Why should we ruin a good meal with bad conversation? 

On those Friday evenings when the grandkids spend the night (we’re back at it after a 3 month hiatus! Hooray!), we finish the meal with “High-Low.” What was the high of the day, and what was the low? Highs are mandatory, lows are optional. We go around the table, listening to each other give voice to that which has blessed them that day, sharing the good news and encouraging one another. 

We have never lacked for enough food. Our dinners usually conclude with leftovers. Sad to say, there are millions who have never known a leftover. We are exceptionally blessed. Every time we sit down at the table, we bow our heads and give thanks, recognizing that everything we enjoy is a gift from God, and every meal is sacramental if we allow it to be. Christ is present with us at every meal, reminding us that we don’t live by bread alone.

Which brings me full circle. I don’t usually feel immediately energized when I sit down for a meal. My stomach feels good, but that’s about it. But if I skip too many meals, I’ll notice the effect of a lengthy fast. I’ll lose weight (that’s good), but I’ll also lose strength. One meal a week would be a slow death sentence, and yet that’s what so many Christians attempt to live on spiritually. Sunday morning is it, and they don’t even feed themselves! This morning, I read my Bible and prayed. Neither discipline lit any fires in me. I felt like I was going through the motions. It wasn’t very satisfying, but I know that this was just one meal, and added to yesterday’s and tomorrow’s, it feeds my soul, for which I am thankful tonight.