Dec 14, 2014 Can We Eat Together? The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17 By Austin Channing Brown Standing not much more than three feet tall, with little braids bouncing around her head, Christina was ridiculously cute. She was small for her age and clearly undone by her family’s sudden life change from a home to a shelter. We knew she was having a hard adjustment because she never spoke. Every time our group of volunteers showed up, Christina would choose one of us, climb into our arms, and stay there. She wouldn’t speak or laugh or cry. She just grabbed on. But the longer she was there, the more she started to adapt. She still didn’t say much, but we were intoxicated by the rare occasion of hearing her voice or laughter. As much as we loved seeing her, telling her goodbye was never easy. She always demanded a legitimate reason for our departure. On one such occasion I cited needing to go home so I could eat dinner. As if I needed a cosigner, my stomach growled, right on cue. Christina was not pleased. She walked away without a word, disappearing into a sea of kids. Before I knew it, she was in front of me again, a little jar of Vienna sausages in her hand. She held it out for me to take. My heart dropped into my stomach. I could not, would not take this child’s little sausages. “That’s so sweet,” I said with a sugary voice, “but I can’t eat your food, honey. I have to go home and eat my food.” She insisted. I refused. For the second time, she turned on her heels and walked away. For such a little body, she was able to contain a heap of offense. So when she came back with outstretched hand, I made her a deal. “Can we eat together?” Eating those little sausages with Christina embodied a moment of peace, of gladness, of love. Such a small unassuming package felt like hope dancing between us. Though other children swirled in activity around us, God quieted us with love. I think God was indeed rejoicing over us in that moment. I could hear the song in my heart. It felt a lot like church.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 13:11:54 +0000
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