Martha Moments
August 5, 2021
Embers From the Fire
A weekly blog by Deacon Dan Wagnitz for the Quad-Parish Community
Martha Moments – 8/6/2021
This week we have been blessed by my son Jacob and his family staying with us. They arrived on Sunday and we celebrated with a full family meal. It was the first time in three years that we have had all four of our grown children, their spouses and their children together since Jacob and his family moved to Colorado.
Monday morning the request from the granddaughters was for Grandpa’s famous pancakes. Well, they are at least famous within our family. So, a batch of chocolate chip pancakes for the girls and fresh blueberry pancakes for the adults was consumed along with breakfast sausage, coffee, juice, and milk. Then we headed to Bay Beach where we met up with our son Nathan and his family. Then the bunch of us shared another dinner meal – this time Grandma made chicken stir fry, again by special request.
Grandma not only made supper she also did some extra baking. So, when we started to clean up afterwards, I teased Michelle that I was going to take a picture of the mess and entitle it, “Grandma Cooks”. In her own defense she said, “Well, then call it ‘Grandma Cooks for Lots of People’”. Tonight, we are headed to my youngest son Ben’s home for supper.
The visit has quickly reminded us how important food is to special family moments. Sure, there is a lot of joy in the eating and tasting and table talk. But for Michelle and I (and we have passed it on to our children) there is joy in preparing the meal that is intended to be shared with those who are close to our hearts. I think the patron saint of our home is Martha.
The difference in our stories, at least the one that we all know about the Martha who worried about many things, is that our hearts are light in the preparing and serving, and even the cleaning up. Martha did not choose a wrong thing in choosing service to the gathering, but she lost perspective in why she was doing what she was doing. Meals and family are best experienced together where love becomes the secret ingredient and we get a foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet.
His Peace,
Deacon Dan