Looking at the picture above I can immediately remember some of the best meals that I have ever had when I was younger. This is of course during one of the days that we combined church and food to follow: Homecoming! And when I talk about homecomings, I am talking about the ones that used to be out in the fresh air with cars as tables and taking. With freshly prepared meals stretched as far as my eyes could see I always remember looking forward to eating everything there! And if I had to single something out I would say that I always looked forward to getting down to the end of the row (that is where the desserts were!). Through the next few years of growing up I began to see things differently than what I had once felt. Somehow the excitement for the food had been lessened with the attention now being drawn to the people around me.
Looking back, I now know why they did it. Yes, food is a great way to bring people together, but this gathering was about so much more than food. The efforts that people made when they would get up at the break of daylight to fix the perfect dish went beyond the worry of peoples satisfaction with the taste. I finally realized more was going on than met the eye (or the stomach). Food was the metaphor to what was behind the ingredients of what prepared it. I realize now as those days are behind me that the people that worked so hard to prepare wonderful days like that were creating one of the closest experiences we will have to heaven on earth. There was a fellowship being shown by coming together. There was a love being shown to all who would come. Everyone could come and dine as they were. The more I think about this now I now know beyond all doubt that homecoming was not only about the message of fellowship and reunion but also showing the message of salvation through those dishes. That may be a laugh to some people out there but I will forever remember all the wonderful people who always worked so hard for others even when they received little or nothing in return for their efforts.
If I could do anything now, I wish that I could have not just lived in the moment so much and saw the bigger picture. There is simply never enough gratitude for all the small things that are done behind the scenes that make pictures and memories like these so wonderful. I am glad to say though I may miss dining at the table with my brothers and sisters who have passed on I will get to dine with them again in a far better place than this world!