“Then the King will say to those at His right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink…’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw You hungry and gave You food, or thirsty and gave You something to drink?…’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of My family, you did it to Me.'” Matthew 25, select verses.

I regularly review priorities in my life and examine my goals, even when it’s not in service to New Year’s resolutions. It’s just a habit I have that helps me reflect and plan. Lately, the piece that I’ve been contemplating is feeding people. It probably helps that I currently work at a food bank, but honestly it’s nothing new for me. I love cooking for people. I love to invite folks over for dinner, although it’s been a while since I was able to do so. When we bought our house in Fort Worth, I had dreams of having people join us for dinner on a regular basis. I had one dinner party and one Superbowl party, and then Covid happened. We never got to have the ongoing meals for people I had envisioned.

Then we moved into an apartment, with no room for a table. We ate our meals sitting on the couch in front of the television (to be honest, we tend to do that anyway). I can’t remember inviting anyone over during the 10 months we lived in Plano, except for one instance of a neighbor coming by briefly to hang out and the random times family came to visit.

Now we’re in a rental house, with an actual dining room. Christmas with my family was amazing, being able to use our table to seat 12 of us and enjoy a meal together. I really want to plan a weekly dinner where we invite various folks in our lives – coworkers, folks from church, maybe some college students we know who go to school here. I’m not 100% sure how to begin but the plan is starting to happen.

Meanwhile, I get to feed people through my work, something that excites me. I get to teach people how to cook and how to make healthy choices in their food. Ironically, I’m not great at the healthy choices thing, although we rarely eat at restaurants anymore which helps. At home I don’t struggle as much to eat healthy food, especially when I’m careful to avoid purchasing snacks at the grocery store.

Anyway, if you live in Lubbock and want a dinner invite, let me know! I should have the Christmas decorations put away this weekend and the house back in order, so I will be ready to host meals like I’ve wanted.