May 27th, 2020: Food and Our Well-Being

 Authentic Canadian Poutine Recipe - Seasons and Suppers

Most of us have a favourite food that we would love to have whenever we have a chance. It doesn't have to be something fancy. It is just something that has a lot of association with our childhood, our years of growing up, or family and our specific experience. One of my endearing Vietnamese dishes is Pork Belly Stew and Egg (Trứng Heo Kho). Memories are just flooding back whenever I have that dish.

Food provides us with a sense of identity. My wife was born in the Midwest USA and they talk about Catfish. We go down to further south in Georgia, then it is fried chicken. Clam chowder is what people rave about in Boston. Then if you end up being in Quebec Canada, poutine is your game...it gives a sense of comfort in knowing where we belong.

Food is what people do when they gather. How many times we heard people say that the most used room in their house is the kitchen. It is a place where good families gather, especially during a holiday. Food tends to be the background and the central piece of good conversation. We share, we compare notes about various life experiences. And yes, sometimes we play connoisseurs.

Good food is an outcome of some amazing recipes. It is not just the ingredients. It is the right mix of spices. It is the process of preparation. It requires time. It asks for patience. It depends on the creativity and the imagination of the cook. Above all, good food is a masterpiece work of art.

There is another kind of food that we all need and yet sometimes we neglect it. It is the food for our human soul. It is the kind of food that affirms our identity in God. It brings a family together in good and difficult times. It is the outcome of worship. Spiritual food reveals us the creativity of God and how amazing we are as God's masterpiece. To be able to enjoy this kind of food, we do need to take time to pay attention to the makeup of our soul.

(Matthew 4: 4)

But he answered, "It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God"."

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