I grow in the kitchen. It takes patience to have helpers who spill with flair and stand right in the exact spot you need to be (even when they move). Since I am not a patient person--I think I was born tapping my foot--I need this kitchen with only one functional counter. Every time I don't give in to my impatience I am growing more patient. Every time we eat a less than stellar meal, we all grow in charity and perseverance. The kitchen is not just my family food center, it is the exercise of my will against my weaknesses, my creativity harnessed to the yoke of service, my...well. Yeah.
Every time I get really lofty thoughts about my role in the home, I lose my patience and grow in humility.
Here's Jeff Young, The Catholic Foodie, who said it way better.
The Best Kept Secret of the Kitchen
Cooking as a Charism
If you’re like me, family life in your home is usually hectic, especially at meal time. Or when preparing for meal time.
Goodness! There are days when we wonder how we are going to eat. There’s no one home to cook. And there’s no way we’re stopping for fast food (that’s anathema at our house). Those times make for late nights and rushed eating, sometimes even forgetting to bless our food before we eat. Not good.
Though the world often stresses us out with its unrelenting frenetic pace, the home - and especially the dinner table - should be a refuge, a place of peace and communion. But this is not always an easy task.
So, what’s a mom or dad to do?
Well, I would suggest prayer first. Can’t do anything without God’s grace! Beyond that, I suggest a modest change in perspective. What does that mean? It means we need to look at our work in the kitchen as a gift, an act of charity.Click here to continue reading...
