Christ in My Kitchen

Today I offer a blessing for the kitchen. I found this poem on an old wall hanging at a thrift store. (Oh...the joys of thrifting!) I did edit it a little and added the last few verses. There was no name on the picture to identify its author.

But the poem reminds me why God has ordained the wonderful sphere of the home as the wife's occupation in life. What better place could we be? It is a heavenly and high calling. In the home, specifically the kitchen, godly women do the very work that God Himself does. We feed others. God feeds His people and has from the very beginning. This is divine activity!

In the garden, God fed the man and woman He created; in fact, He created their food even before Adam and Eve were created. The LORD fed the children of Israel manna in the desert. God kept the widow's jug of oil and jar of flour replenished for herself, her son and Elijah the prophet (1 Kings 17) during a time of famine.

During Jesus' earthly ministry He fed the multitudes (the first time there were 5000 men alone, not including women and children). On one of those occasions (John 6:1-14), Jesus used a young boy's five barley loaves and two small fish to feed upwards of 10,000 hungry people. 

But besides physical food, God supplies His children with spiritual food. In the 23rd Psalm, our Shepherd leads us and feeds us. Jesus told His followers, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35-36).

Nourishing others with physical food from our kitchens opens to us the opportunity to nourish them spiritually as well. And that, my dear sisters, is what our kitchens are all about.

Feeding Others

Bless my little kitchen, Lord;

I love its every nook.

And bless me as I do my work,

Wash pots and pans and cook.

May the meals that I prepare

Be seasoned from above

With Your blessing and Your grace,

But most of all Your love.

As we partake of earthly food

The table You have spread,

We'll not forget to thank You, Lord

For all our daily bread.

Please bless my little kitchen, Lord

And those who enter here;

May they find Your joy and peace,

Through Christ the Savior dear.

For what I offer on each plate

Can only gratify

The temporary need one has -

T'will never satisfy.

But Jesus is the Bread of Life

It is the soul He feeds

He gives to every hungering heart

Himself, to meet the need.

"She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens." (Proverbs 31:15)

"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst". (John 6:35-36)