Comfort Food

People should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

It happened quite by chance. We were planning to get together for dinner with friends and were deciding what food to make. Someone suggested pasta from scratch—something we’d never made before—and everyone agreed it’d be fun to do together. The day we gathered, Julie and Aaron dusted off the pasta maker they’d received years earlier as a wedding gift, and we set about measuring the ingredients. As we poured flour and broke open eggs onto Christa’s countertop, one of her boys came to help. We kneaded dough and laughed, wondering if we were doing it correctly.

While the guys grilled steaks and Kyle fried polenta, the smell of the food mixed with our chatter and laughter. We worked together to push the pasta dough through the maker several times until it was ready. As the water boiled, we assembled salads, then we sat together around the table, prepared to partake of the things we’d just made.

The pasta was the best I’d ever had. Melt-in-your-mouth good. As I looked around the table at a group of people I’ve known for years and hold dear, my heart swelled with love.

There’s comfort in food. And there’s comfort in the relationships of those who know you well. These friends have prayed for us, cried with us, celebrated with us, and loved us deeply.

That night we left determined to do it again soon, making plans for the other dishes we’d like to make together. Beef Wellington, ravioli, and banh mi sandwiches. Comfort food. Comfort friends. All gifts from God.

There are so many good things in life that God has given us to enjoy. And when we share them with others, grateful for the goodness of God in them, we sense the joy he meant for us to experience. Enjoying the fruits from our daily work, the food and drink, and the friendships we’ve made—this is good and right, and truly, a gift from God.

Kendra

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Invite a friend (or multiple friends!) over for dinner, and if you’re so inclined, make the meal together.