This is the 18th of 25 special reflections based on lessons I learned from my mother. These will run from my birthday on October 27 until her birthday on November 20.
Read
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.
Genesis 9:3
Reflect
Some of my favorite memories involve the kitchen. I have loved cooking over the years, and I’ve spent some special times with the people I care the most about preparing meals that we shared together.
That all dates back to my first favorite memory in the kitchen. I was 10 years old and in the Cub Scouts and I needed to earn the cooking badge, so Mom decided to teach me how to make spaghetti. And because it was Mom, she recorded the whole thing on a cassette. (I still have the recording.) She was a great teacher, and not just because the spaghetti turned out well. Because of Mom (and because of my stepmother, Carol, who is still a great cook), I developed a love of cooking. I still enjoy preparing a tasty meal for my family and sharing it with them. (Thanksgiving is coming up in less than two weeks — imagine how much fun that will be!)
This is something I passed along to my own daughter. In fact, I made an audio recording of the two of us making spaghetti when she was 10. Last year, as a present, she scheduled an online cooking class for the two of us to learn to cook Colombian empanadas together. The memory of us cooking — and eating — the empanadas together is something I will always cherish, just as I cherish the memory of cooking in the kitchen with my mother.
Biblically, there are probably a number of things we can take away from this. Mom was being a good parent by teaching her son something useful. Being skilled and prepared is definitely a godly quality. And being able to help out in the kitchen is something every husband should be able to do. (My Dad has always been extremely handy in the kitchen. My stepfather, on the other hand, is a wonderful man, but could probably burn water.)
For me, the bottom line is that I’ve always loved cooking (and my wife appreciates that about me — she says it was one of the first things that attracted her to me). I will always be grateful to my mother for equipping me with that skill and for teaching me to not only love a good meal, but to love putting it together.
Reflection copyright © 2021 Doug DeBolt.
