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April 2005
Saying Grace
Dear Friends,
My grandmother always said, "A family that prays together, stays together." And asking a blessing at the dinner table was always paramount to any mealtime at our house growing up – so we’ve carried on that important tradition to our own children too.
The dinner table is a great gathering place for the family. When I was a kid, sometimes on Sunday especially, we’d not only eat at the dinner table together, but we’d sit and visit around the table for a long time after the meal was finished.
I know this is a common experience for lots of folks. It raises mealtime together to a new level of importance – because it’s not just time for eating, but also time for praying, laughing and connecting as a family.
So above the doorway to our kitchen hangs the familiar print of an elderly, white-bearded gentleman sitting at a table with his Bible, a bowl of soup and a loaf of bread. His head is bowed and his hands are folded as he gives earnest thanks for his humble meal.
That painting and my grandmother’s advice remind me that just because we have abundant and affordable food, it doesn’t mean that we should take our meals for granted. It also reminds me of how grateful I am for what mealtime at our house means.
Of course anyone who takes one look at me might say that food is probably a little too important to me because of how much I’m storing up.
But of all people, farmers know better than anyone else, that food on the table is not guaranteed. Results vary every year we plant a crop or care for the herd. Drought and disaster can wreak quick havoc with a crop and our crops are certainly not hail resistant.
In more arid climates on more fragile land around the world, food is almost a luxury. As children of the Great Depression and the Dirty Thirties, many folks around here can remember parched crops and less than bountiful mealtimes.
Europeans who literally starved during World War II are still rightfully very protective by nature of their food systems and their food supply. It’s a matter of national security to them.
"Give us this day our daily bread," we pray in the Lord’s Prayer right before we ask for another important gift, forgiveness of our trespasses. And during this Easter season, when Spring has sprung around us with pastures greening up, young calves being born and farmers busily preparing for planting, we are reminded even more about the gifts of our Creator.
I guess there are miracles all around us – our families, our fields, our gardens, our countryside – and on our dinner table. I’ve heard people say that no one should curse a farmer with their mouths full.
I would hope for something even more – that we would slow down to ask a blessing on the food we eat and be genuinely grateful when our families are able to gather around the table together to enjoy it.
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
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