Is It Just Me?

Or does much of our lives revolve around food these days? I say maybe it's just me because I'm in one of those "I need to watch what I eat" phases. But seriously, it seems to me like food is often very near the central focus of our lives. Case in point: aren't we all just a little put out in Sunday School when someone forgets to bring the treat?!

I remember when I was little and sharing a popsicle with my sister out on the front stoop was a big treat. An even bigger treat was riding down the street with my gram to the little market and getting to pick out our own flavor of popsicle. The little Vietnamese woman who ran the place referred to my Gram as "the Popsicle Lady" because when she came, she always bought a big bag to take home and keep in the freezer. But that's beside the point. The point being, when I was a kid, "what are we going to do today" was usually answered with a proposal of work or play. Popsicles and ice cream cones were big treats, coffee was the Maxwell house morning brew (that lasted throughout the day) and eating out only happened on your birthday. Our days revolved around picking green beans in Gram's garden, helping her can tomatoes, and playing in the creek and almost falling in.

Today, getting together with friends always seems to revolve around food. Nothing wrong with that; eating is generally understood to be necessary to live. But isn't there anything else to do with people besides eat? How about looking through some photo albums? Visit a shut-in? Work together on a house project - two hands do make such work lighter. Take a walk or ride bikes? Memorize some scripture or pray together. Take a ride through the neighborhood where you grew up? And when hunger pangs hit, go home and make some good old spaghetti or throw a couple of hot dogs on the grill.

I'm not at all against picnics, parties and going out to eat. I'm just wondering if there isn't a bit more to life. If there aren't more ways to connect with people than over a meal?