Today we had over Liz, a childhood friend of Rachel's. Liz was a bridesmaid in our wedding and Rachel was a bridesmaid in her's. So it was a joy to have somebody so special over to our house on a leafy fall afternoon. As it neared dinner time, we urged Liz to stay and eat with us. Opening our home is one of the ways Rachel and I have chosen to bless others and celebrate God's love. Whether we are tight on our budget, or experiencing a surplus, inviting others to eat with us reminds us that God invites all of us to dine with him, to attend his awesome banquet. I was excited to welcome Liz to our table.
I decided to cook chicken coconut curry*, one of my favorite meals to make. I stretched our ingredients so we could all have a small portion. It feels so right to sacrifice my plate so others can join the table, I thought.
As I was cooking, Rachel and Liz decided to go on a walk around the neighborhood to say "hi" to her brother and sister a few blocks away. Just as I'm finishing up the meal I get a call from Rachel.
"Brendan, Charlie and Annie are coming over too! They said they didn't have any dinner plans so I
invited them." Rachel was excited to have three members over of a family she loves so dearly.
"Okay," I hesitated, "So we only have enough for three. How will we feed them?"
"I am not very hungry and I think we can divide it up," answered Rachel, with understanding in her voice. I could tell she knew what I was thinking.
"Well I'm really glad you invited them. We'll see what we can do."
I hung up and said a prayer of blessing on the food, thanking God for our guests, thanking Him for the food, and asking for it to be enough.
Rachel, Liz, Charlie, and Annie came in from their walk and we all met each other. Anxiously, I began to serve up dinner. Because according to the recipe, I cooked only three and a half servings of rice, chicken, curry sauce and vegetables. I get upset when I have to split food with Rachel. I have this anxiety that the food won't be enough.
But as Rachel and I dished the meal out to five plates, each was filled with normal-sized portions. We brought it out to the living room, said a blessing and enjoyed our meal together. We all ate to our fill and then finished it off with ice cream and chocolate sauce. We played games, admired Rachel's impromptu flute skills, laughed and said good-bye to our family friends. I am thankful for nights like this because they remind me of God's welcome to us and that if we take him up on it, he can provide.
*Here is the recipe that I follow loosely. Try it over sautéed bell peppers, onions, carrots and grilled chicken on jasmine rice. Oh yeah.
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