Happy Wednesday TSJ Peeps!
Have you ever noticed the favorite place for family and friends to hang out together is in the kitchen area? It happens no matter the size of the house. There may be plenty of places for folks to gather and children to play or squabble, but it always seems to center in the kitchen area!
I believe it is here that most learning of values and culture and personal sharing and healing happens.
And one of my favorite books is Kitchen Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Remen. The other day when I was packing things from our TSJ office I found some notes I had taken from that book years ago.
I am so pleased to have found these notes when I did. It matches what I experienced this week!
Last Friday I had been feeling overwhelmed because there are lots of details I must address in a few short weeks. Tom’s and my dear friends, Bruce and Carol, who have been lights for us for years (as all good friends are) came over and shared coffee and ideas at my kitchen table. Magic seemed to happen. You see…they moved about three years ago and have their own stories. I learned from their stories.
And my day went smoothly. I also had a profound experience that afternoon in a piano store that brought peace and joy in the midst of chaos and sadness. Something shifted. I am sure that story will show up here at our own symbolic kitchen gatherings on Wednesdays. As you can see in today’s picture, “The Boys” want in on the kitchen action!
Well, the end of the day completed this whole kitchen table healing experience for me. I went to see our daughter and her husband (Amy and Dan) and children for a late afternoon iced tea and Friday night dinner. Wow. The stories we all shared were diverse and enriching. The laughter rung out and even some tears trickled down some cheeks as we talked about Tom (Amy’s dad) and TSJ’s beloved behind-the-scenes encourager. Lots of other life happenings were also shared. And the aroma of good cooking filled the air at the same time.
The gift their family gives to anyone who enters is the gift of hospitality, warmth and excellent home made and healthy food. I never stop being amazed at how much goodness comes from gathering around kitchen counters and the tables. And how hard it seems to be for families today to make this happen. I think I got a reminder of why current research says that children who eat with their families are less likely to get in trouble and more likely to succeed. The kitchen is a healing place of all sorts of “boo boos” from skinned knees to wounded hearts.
I came back home feeling loved, supported, well fed and happily weary. Something happens in kitchens. They are hospitals for sadness and worries, sanctuaries for love and hope, and nourishment for body and soul. Then a few days later the grandkids came for a sleepover and once again showed unspeakable love, humor, and playfulness that filled this “grammie’s” heart. They were amazingly happy to see where Grandpa Tom and helped choose my new place. It was magical for me.
Here are some excerpts from Rachel Remen’s introduction to her book: Kitchen Table Wisdom:
*Sitting around the table telling stories is not just a way of passing time. It is the way the wisdom gets passed along.
*Real stories take time. Life rushes us along …most often, something unforeseen stops us and it is only then we have the time to take a seat at life’s kitchen table.
*The less time we spend together at the kitchen table, the more how-to-books appear in the stores and on our bookshelves.
*The kitchen table is a level playing field. Everyone’s story matters.
*Stories are someone’s experience of the events of their life, they are not the events themselves. Most of us experience the same event very differently.
*Stories allow us to see something familiar through new eyes.
*Knowing your own story requires having a personal response to life, an inner experience of life. It is possible to live a life without experiencing it.
As your summer flies by and the flurry of preparing for fall is in full swing, enjoy whatever time you can sharing stories and experiences with each other.
Perhaps kitchens are a great place for us shepherds-in training (or understudies of Chief Shepherd) to practice.
Solomon says,”absolutely” and seems to be enjoying sitting at the counter this morning. As you can see SJ is copying him as all children do.
Happy Shepherding today!
Margie and “the boys”
