Tuesday's Meaty Proverb
Waking up with a migraine and having no internet access all afternoon makes for a short blog entry. Hey, maybe that should be today’s proverb.
But seriously, I was reading Proverbs 15 today and ran across yet another verse that has never sparked my fancy before.
“A bowl of vegetables with someone you love, is better than steak with someone you hate.” – Proverbs 15:17 (NLT)
Wow, I really love steak, but I also love my wife and kids. This actually reminds me of being a kid. When I was eight years old we moved from Knoxville, TN to Memphis so that my dad could attend Mid America Baptist Theological Seminary. Memphis was a long way away from Bristol, where the rest of our family lived. It also meant that we had less money, and my dad had to work nights. We moved from a pretty nice house, an open concept log cabin actually, to a small apartment. In fact, we moved something like 5 times in 5 years, and if I remember right I went to 5 different schools in 4 years, and a total of 7 schools between 2nd & 9th grade. As a matter of fact, my parents moved from TN to MS one day while I was in the 8th grade, and forgot me at school. They finally sent a deacon from our new church to pick me up around dinner time.
Le me get the story back to being 8 years old again. I specifically remember having a conversation with my parents about home and family, the move, some separation, and other issues. One day I finally said something like this: “Home is wherever our family is can be together.” Don’t get me wrong, moving around, missing my dad, and switching schools, friends, & daycares was all very difficult. But is was survivable. Without knowing it, I was a living example of this ancient proverb. There were times when our family didn’t have much extra, but we always had enough. And we always had each other.
Tell your family you love them today; then make a trip to the grocery store…because a thick juicy steak with someone you love is even better than a bowl of vegetables!
