Food for the Journey

I loved going to my grandparents’ house when I was younger.

As a kid, I would spend the night with them almost every weekend. My grandpa would take me to the park a block from their house to play tennis and climb the jungle gym. He would push me on the swings so high I knew I would fly off into the clouds. While we were at the park, my grandma, Mamaw, would start getting dinner ready.

I love my Mamaw for so many reasons.  She is a spunky, southern woman not a hair taller than five feet, with a deep love for Kroger-brand crème brûlée creamer. Mamaw also likes to do things her way. She is as stubborn as the day is long and is happy to tell you exactly what she thinks, always disguised as southern hospitality (bless your heart). She loves reading the Upper Room, putting together Thomas Kincaid puzzles, and watching the Wheel of Fortune. Some of these traits she has passed on to me, especially the love of “The Wheel”.

The schedule was consistent every weekend we spent together. Park, dinner, Wheel of Fortune, bedtime prayers. And then early on Saturday mornings I would wake up, climb in her lap, and we would do word-search books together in a race to see who could finish the page first. Sometimes I would beat her, but most of the time I think she let me win. And I love her for that.

I love her for all of these reasons, but the thing I love most about her is her food. Mamaw loves to cook.

I wish I could count how many times I have walked through her back screen door and have been welcomed first by the rich smells of green beans, homemade rolls, and fried chicken and followed with a hug so tight it could squeeze the life out of you. Up until recent years, just about every family holiday, birthday, celebration, and get-together was at Mamaw’s house. And by golly, she was going to be cooking the meal. With pots and pans tossed all around her tiny kitchen, she mastered the art of making dinner. 

Often when I would stay with them a steady trail of family members, neighbors, or friends would stop by (usually around lunch or dinner time). The back screen door was almost always open and it seemed like people could just come in whenever they pleased. As soon as they entered, walking immediately into the kitchen, she would say, “Let me fix y’all a plate.” Whether they answered with a yes or a no, they always walked out with something to eat, arms juggling Tupperware and saran-wrapped plates. A meal for the road. 

I wish I could send with you containers of Mamaw’s green beans and fried chicken, but what I can offer is a blessing. A word of hope for the incredibly difficult journey of being human in this world. It may not fill your belly, but I pray it feeds your soul.

A Blessing for a Hungry Soul

May you who is traveling find somewhere in your tote the meal that will keep you going.

You don’t have to be physically moving to be journeying. You may even feel stuck in your current situation, but your soul might still be wandering about, hungry and searching for something filling.

I pray you are filled with all that you need. More than morsels, more than crumbs. You deserve to be fed.

May your soul discover the words, the prayers, the movement of your body, the breathing, or the stillness it requires to not give up, to keep searching, to keep wandering because the journey isn’t over.

That’s the wild part of this soul-stuff: we never actually arrive. As soon as we are restored by hope and goodness, another bend in the road comes over the hill, a new flight of stairs descends deeper into the inner parts of us. More.

May you find More. More hope. More goodness. More love. A God who is infinitely and unknowingly More.

May More find you. And in those holy places where only you and More find each other, I pray your soul is fed. That it has enough to take another step.

You will always need More. And More is always on its way to you. Be fed, be full, and be well.

If you need someone to companion with you on your journey, spiritual direction may be the food you need. I would love to talk with you to see if spiritual direction could be restoring and meaningful in your life. Please visit the “Schedule” tap to request an appointment so that we can connect and journey together.