Comfort Food

I want to give a shout-out to my sister-in-law. When a time of crisis hit our household, she brought us mountains of homemade Polish comfort food; my mouth still waters with the memory of it. That dear girl sure can cook! She brought so much food that we couldn’t eat it fast enough and had to freeze some of it for later. I am, to this day, so thankful for her kindness.

Giving a gift of food during a time of need is a tradition that has carried over from our small-town community roots. In the old days it would have been a home-cooked meal made from scratch, but the structure of many peoples’ lives is different now; a gift of restaurant food brought by a delivery service is a welcome sight when life is overwhelming. Yet many of our friends still took time to prepare food themselves. They thoughtfully brought their gifts to us in recyclable or compostable disposable containers to save us from the extra work of keeping track of and returning dishes.

We experienced other special touches as people reached out to us. One friend brought a bouquet of flowers along with a meal. One couple brought us meals on more than one occasion and included a copy of the recipe each time. This served a twofold purpose - it was helpful information in case we had food sensitivities, but also allowed us to duplicate the meal for ourselves in the future. Someone brought us a dinner several weeks after the initial rush of gifts; it was a welcome surprise.

When the challenges of life make figuring out what’s for dinner the last thing on our minds, a gift of food blesses us on many levels. It not only fills our stomachs, but fills our hearts knowing that someone gave their time and resources to care for us. Later on, our hearts are warmed again as we remember their thoughtfulness. Giving someone a meal in a time of need weaves threads of kindness into the tapestry of the story of their lives.

For the Guys

Icy Winter Morning