Thursday, July 05, 2007

What Dishes Can Teach Us About Society


“Oh my gosh!” I almost literally yelled. “Norm, come look at the size of these bowls.”

Norm took a quick glance, shook his head, and went back to feeding the cats. He’s not as easily inclined to make a big deal about something like bowl circumference as I am.

We’d just bought new dishes. I chose them for the cool grapevine design and the super-sized coffee mugs. But the bowls almost gave me a heart attack. I could have fit half a box of cereal on one, no problem. I noticed that the dinner plates were the size of one of the serving dishes in the set of china that I inherited from my grandmother.

“No wonder we have such an obesity problem in America,” I preached. “Everyone eats off of dishes that can hold enough food for a family of four.” I pictured Norm moving his lips as I spoke. He’d heard similar speeches before, in reference to the size of burritos, fast food drink cups, and the “small” ice creams at Cold Stone. But did I exchange those dishes for a more practical set? Of course not. I needed those mugs that held a quarter pot of coffee, cutting down on refill trips to the kitchen each morning. I have clearly fallen into step with our “Super-size it” society.

This morning, as I filled one of those gigantic mugs with French roast and a splash of flavored creamer I saw the issue a little differently. The day after celebrating our nation’s independence I recognized that more-than-I-need capacity as a reminder of how blessed I am. Even as I’m making a grocery list I have enough food in the house to fill one of those huge bowls or plates. If my coffee mug is empty in the morning it’s because I already drank the contents, not because we couldn’t afford coffee.

Consider the many ways that God has blessed you, even when it comes to the basics like food. Today, instead of giving into temptation to consider all that’s wrong with the world, what reminds you of all that is right? I pray that God fills your day with pictures of His goodness.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That's SO TRUE. We live in the land of abundance. Thank you for the reminder. :-)

your friend,

Debbie
http://my-God-rocks.blogspot.com