Who says we can’t play with our food? Taking delight in each other in the time we have together, and looking at something that seems useless, wrong, disposable, and turning it into laughter – that’s part of living an Abundant Life.
Today I’m in quarantine, waiting for chicken pox to go away (yes, apparently as an adult you can get various species of chicken pox, even if you had it as a kid like I did!) and so can’t be part of the receiving and organizing of the weekly mountain of veggies that comes in to Abundant Life. I watch from home over Zoom as everyone scurries around with boxes and bags and waves huge squash in the air, marvels over the hundreds of cherry tomatoes.
And then someone bursts out giggling. And another. They’re all huddled around a box, and I feel like I want to jump through my computer.
The potatoes have sprouted. But no! The potatoes have hair! someone exclaims.
More scurrying, a marker that normally marks boxes for each family is now marking sprouted spuds.
The potatoes are happy!
Potato baby!
Potato cousins!
More potato neighbors!
Giggles, then laughter. Big laughter.
We so need this.
It’s been a hard year for our community. Lost jobs, lost income, lost lives. It’s been heavy, and we are thankful to continue to be a blessing in our community. Every week we get to receive and share donations, fresh vegetables and diapers and breads and yogurts and sometimes even meat. We get to share all this with our neighbors, even if we don’t get to see each other as neighbors very often because of the pandemic.
The food is the most tangible expression of God’s grace that passes from hand to hand (washed often, of course!). The food is our point of contact, and with it flow our prayers for God’s protection, God’s healing, God’s grace to make it through another week.
Most weeks there is gentleness as food passes from hand to hand, and prayers and compassion, but not as many giggles, not as much laughter as today.
These particular spuds won’t make it out with the rest of the donations, but they will stand happy watch over us all this week. And who knows, maybe they’ll find their way into someone’s garden plot 🙂
This week the food is not just prayed over, but giggled, laughed over. And that’s an extra blessing and hope for abundant life for all who are touched by this ministry.
Abundant Life Ministries 