Comfort’s not classy. It’s cozy. In food, for me, it shows up like a grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of tomato soup. Or like this morning, a bowl of oatmeal to take the chill off a winter morning. Sometimes it’s a warm chocolate chip cookie with a cold glass of milk. We all have our favorites.
Simple foods brought me back to a story when my Mama was in her first year of nurse’s training at the Norwegian American hospital in Chicago, Illinois. During Mama’s first break, she returned for a weekend visit to her family. They lived in the Logan Square part of Chicago, where many Norwegian immigrants settled. Her Papa was the pastor of the Logan Square Baptist Church with services in Norwegian and English, such as it was.
Well, like most of us with a little bit of education, Mama returned to teach her parents what she’d been learning. Most important, to her, was their nightly routine. You see, every night before bed, her parents sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a piece of toast. Never decaf!
So my Mama declared, “This is not healthy. You need to have a glass of warm milk, not coffee and toast. Trust me, it’s better for you.” Well, they wanted to be healthy and they also wanted to trust their eldest child’s freshly gained wisdom. So Mama and Papa said, “Vell, ve vill try dis new ting, Margaret.” So my Mama headed to her bed where two other sisters also slept, while her parents put into practice “dis new ting.”
About two of so in the morning, my Mama was awakened to sounds coming from the kitchen, along with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. There sat her parents enjoying their usual bedtime comfort food. When they saw their daughter, Papa raised his cup and said, “Such foolishness. Ve couldn’t sleep vit varm milk. So ve made our usual. Ve’ll sleep now.”
And they did.
Oddly enough, this story brought me back to my small group at church, where old and new ideas percolate. I find it’s comfort food for my soul. Tonight’s topic’s on HOLINESS. Sounds less than comforting. But I liked how Rowan Williams took being holy from a focus on ME to YOU. Just the opposite of how some folks feel around people who impress and depress you with THEIR “holiness.” He wrote, “A holy person makes you see things in yourself and around you that you have not seen before, enlarges the world rather than shrinking it.”(from Being Disciples, p. 53)
Which left me “tinking” about folks who’ve done that for me. Well, stories from my family and our small group, for starters. They nudge me to keep discovering and enlarging my world. And in a strange leap to accept when a cup of coffee and a piece of toast at day’s end may be just what the “doctor” ordered.
Just “tink” about it.
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18 Comments
Thanks Jan for the “food for thought.” So original, right? 🙂 More seriously, food is interesting in that we eat when we are sad and eat when we are glad – we comfort and we celebrate and often with the same food and/or drink. What your note helped me realize is that God’s food is different for each of us as He knows just what we need; even if it’s His caffeine before bed. Blessings dear friend, Dale
True, for sure. God knows what we need, even though it may not be what we want. Also, knowing my grandparents their coffee was not high-test. They needed to make those coffee beans stretch, like their limited “budget.” And speaking of comfort food, when I think of you I think,PEANUT BUTTER. Enjoy!
You know I am smiling ear to ear
I thought I “heard” you smile, dear Sue. Always happy to hear from one of my “Gordon girls.”
Gosh, I love this and have so missed hearing your stories, Mrs. C! After getting the Gordon email about chapel, I found your blog and am so happy to get to “hear” your stories and wisdom again! Much love!
Wow! Thanks a bunch, dear Bryden. I look forward to being back at Gordon in a few more days. Happy you found the blog. I always love hearing from Gordon alums.
I’m “tinking” and I love it!! And I love your blogs of great wisdom! and love and miss you!! Must get together soon!!
Nancy Vecchio
Well, keep “tinking” dear Nancy. And speaking of “tinking”, I’m loving studying the book of Joshua with Community Bible Study via our zoom group this year. We have another great group of women, led by Jane Rosell and Shelli Moran. But I miss seeing your face!!
Thanks for the smiles and the giggles. They come every time I see you spell out that accent that I remember so well from the Sunday conversations that took place in our living room over coffee or at relative get togethers for one “ting” or another. My mother drank coffee near bedtime as well.
We have a good and godly heritage, dear Radina. Good to hear from you from your new home in Oregon. Thanks for keeping in touch. They had little money, big faith, generous hearts and the ability to drink coffee at bedtime. What a winning comboi!
I raise my cuppa Joe in your (and yr clan’s) honor!
Thanks, David! I seem to have their genes when it comes to coffee at night. Woohoo!
Keep the Norwegian stories coming, Jan! They help me feel “koselig” in this chilly January weather. And I like grilled cheese and tomato soup too – perfect winter combo. And as for Rowan William’s take on holiness moving from ME to YOU, I was actually in grad school when I realized that the 10 commandments weren’t really about me, they were about protecting others from me (and all of us from each other.) Love your outward focus in loving everybody, always!
Tusen takk, Norski Maggie. Wow! Tough and important reminder about the true impact of obeying or disobeying the 10 Commandments.
Well, it’s close to my bedtime.. Time for coffee!
Your words were a comfort to me
Thank You
Good to hear from you,dear Alice. We all need words and food that comfort in tough times. Nobody knows that better than Jesus.
❤️❤️❤️
Love those hearts. My favorite motif. We’ve connected heart to heart for a long time. Keep it up, dear Wendy.