Bread & Wine Guest Post #1
It was always at the landing of our stairwell that I found I had to pause and collect myself. There was always this moment when I would confront the smells of whatever was about to be served for dinner, and in a split second, a wave of nausea would nearly knock me down.
Our twins are now nearly five months old, but I can remember every moment of being pregnant with them, especially the moments colored in green with sick. I got pregnant with them one month after we moved into our dream home – a sturdy American Foursquare built in 1923 in the heart of our city – and so most of our first year in this home tells the tale of one of the most challenging seasons of my life.
The thing we loved most about our home from the moment we first walked in the door is the dining room. Big enough to comfortably seat eight, lots of windows, and French doors that open to the backyard, it’s a hospitality dream come true. And so from the minute we unpacked the last of the kitchen boxes, we began inviting people over. Friends, family, co-workers, whoever would say Yes to our invitation, we set a place for at our table.
But then I was sick and was loathe to get out of bed. My husband, however, is a persistent dude. And he has a heart for hospitality like no one I know. And so he kept the smoker running and the grill fired up and the skillets sizzling and the whipped cream whipped. He extended invitations and set the table and hand washed our fine china coffee cups and ran the dishwasher. And all the while I whimpered and moaned and sipped my ginger ale.
But as I reflect back on those torturous months, I realize that though I could barely bear the smell of the food my husband prepared and served – let alone partake of it – that doesn’t mean that I was precluded from the feasting.
As an extrovert, I crave the company of others. Without interaction with others, I fall into a deep, dark place, but I was in no condition to tend to my need for others in those days. And I can see now that one of the most beautiful ways my husband served me through that long, lonely season was the way he kept the table open and the dining room filled with life.
Our family, our friends, our neighbors, our pastors … all of them came and offered their company to keep me from starving.
In Bread and Wine, Shauna talks about how people don’t want or expect perfection in the homes of others – they just want a warm place to feel at home. I found that to be resoundingly true as people poured out grace over me – the half of the hosting couple who couldn’t eat a bite – by drawing me out of myself with gentleness, humor, and constant refills of ginger ale.
I learned so much in those weeks when my belly grew so big, not the least of which is the lengths my husband will go to to love me. But more than that, I learned that even in the moments of life when we most resist it, the moments we’re sure we can’t bear it, that there is hope and healing and life and light to be found around the table in the company of those we love.
By Megan Tietz of SortaCrunchy, who with her husband and four children happily make their home in the heart of Oklahoma City. Please visit her blog to learn more about her, and comment to let her know how much you enjoyed her submission!
photo by swaminathan
A Guest Post Second Helping!
The Supper Club {An Experiment in Community}
Do you feel a little desperate for a girls’ night out sometimes? Me, too. Sometimes I casually tell my girlfriends that I’d love a night out, but inside I know Something’s Gotta Give. It’s natural to crave friendship: sitting around a table together eating and chatting recharges our batteries.
That’s how the email began, the email that I sent to 20-something ladies earlier this month in an attempt to start a monthly Sunday night supper club, an idea that had gently brewed for a couple of months but gathered steam while reading about Shauna Niequist’s monthly Cooking Club in Bread & Wine.
“Friendship is acting out God’s love for people in tangible ways.”
I sprinkled quotes from Bread & Wine throughout the email and outlined a plan for incorporating monthly themes like:
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Oh, y’all, this is gold from Dawn Camp! Please click through to her blog, My Home Sweet Home, to continue reading “The Supper Club {An Experiment in Community}“. You’ll be so encouraged!
Let’s be engaged community members and bless our Guest contributors each week by sharing their posts in our social media networks, commenting to their posts and visiting their sites (and from the Bloom (in)courage team, thank you!!).
See you on Monday for our first cooking video. Tune in to find out what recipe had us drooling!