Comfort Food

It's been a rough week. I led memorial services for two families whose mothers had recently died. One on Friday and one on Saturday. At the same time we were all hearing about the devastating 9.0 earthquake in Japan. 9.0. We experienced a 7.2 earthquake here in El Centro last Easter Sunday. The Japan quake was significantly greater. I wasn't sure how these things are measured, but I discovered that the TNT (dynamite) equivalent for a 7.2 is about 943 kilotons. For a 9.0 it is about 474 MEGAtons. I cannot imagine that kind of energy release, the damage, the human loss. The world is responding to Japan with aid in all kinds of forms. Our church is responding by contributing to a designated fund opened by UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief). 100% of the donations go to relief efforts in Japan. I'm  hoping and praying for a full recovery for the people of Japan.

Sunday we had friends over for dinner and I was craving what many of us call "comfort food." What is it? I think it's different for us all, but the one thing in common with comfort food is it reminds us of "home", and home reminds us of a sense of belonging, safety, security, and love. (Home being that place real or imagined for each of us)

Have you ever wondered why food plays such an important role in the life of Jesus? Maybe it's a reminder of all that is good about "home." Food and home seem to go together.

One of my great childhood memories of what I'd call home was going to my Grandmother's house. She baked her own bread and put up her own preserves. She had a boysenberry bramble at the back of the yard where she picked the fruit to make jam.  Sometimes we kids would help, but we usually ate more than we saved! There was nothing like entering the back door of here home, which into the kitchen, and smelling the aroma of fresh baked bread. There was nothing like having a piece of toast with homemade boysenberry jam. I think in those moments and memories we catch a glimpse of heaven. Home. Heaven. Same place as far as I'm concerned.