Lent Day 13: Bless

You might be wondering what empty containers have to do with the word Bless. It might not be an obvious connection, but as I sat contemplating the world Bless, I asked myself a couple of questions: What has blessed me recently? How do I bless others?

What/who has blessed me recently? The almost immediate answer came in the stack of empty containers on my counter. I have had to cook very few meals over the last four and a half weeks. The reason is that church, friends and family (by the way, these are not exclusively separate groups) have provided meals for us as we have adjusted to parenthood. The stack of containers on my counter is evidence of the way we have been immensely blessed over the last month. We haven't had to think about food, except to answer the door when someone knocks or decide which leftovers are going to be lunch today. This has been a huge blessing, which I am recognizing even more as I am starting to need to think of dinners again (how did I do this meal planning thing before?!?). You would think that dinners would be such a small thing as you are adjusting to being parents, but it was HUGE!

I also realized something about myself. I have always been hesitant to join "meal trains" or the like because I feel inadequate as a chef. I mean, I cook homemade meals and my husband seems pretty pleased. Sometimes I even surprise myself with concoctions invented from what is in our fridge (thanks Mom for these wonderful skills being passed down!), but to feed other people is intimidating. However, as meals were brought to us, I realized that we didn't judge what the meal was like, whether it was homemade or bought at a store or restaurant; we were simply pleased to have food. We had bagged salad and restaurant take-out. We had homemade pot roast and veggies and amazing Mexican food. The variety impressed me. And no one dropped off the food and said "I'm sorry if you don't like it. I hope it is okay." They dropped off the food, oohed and ahhed over our little one and left us to eat. It was a good lesson for me that when it is time to provide meals for people, the very act of a meal being brought is enough. I needed that lesson--it is about feeding those who could use a helping hand, not about my reputation as a cook.

And how do I bless others? Well, another little baby is coming up in our church family (might not seem like a big deal, but in our small church it is) and we will get to be on the other end of this meal giving; we will get to bless some of the very people who blessed us with a meal, with a meal (is that a proper sentence?). I look forward to giving them the luxury of getting to ignore one vital chore as they learn to be parents, and hopefully I won't spend a whole week agonizing over what to make them and if it will be good enough.