Hats Off To The Cook!

So you are the cook for your household? For a meal? Hats off to you! You planned a meal that would nourish the bodies and minds of those you love the most. You selected healthy ingredients to add nutrition, taste, flavor, and beauty to the dishes you prepared. You sit down to share time and nourishment together. Is it just the food to keep everyone from saying, “I’m hungry?” Is there more than meets the eye, beautiful as your meal is?

God created each member of your household with the most amazing body system to fulfill their responsibilities today. You fixed the delicious food that will facilitate their brains to be able to think clearly, reason whether a choice is honoring to God or not, and fuel their muscles and nerves to complete a myriad of tasks today. You chose and prepared their body’s fuel for today!

The most important part of our bodies is our brain - the central intelligence command center. Our heavenly Father is a personal God and He wants to speak to us in our minds. That healthy meal you just fixed will help everyone’s mind to be prepared to communicate with their Creator more clearly. The food choices we make for ourselves and those we have the privilege of cooking for will affect our minds. 

God, the Creator or the universe, notices and values what you did. “He places a high estimate on those who do faithful service in preparing wholesome, palatable (delicious) food.” Imagine that! God taking notice of what you cooked/prepared!

Everyone at the table is nearly done eating the food you prepared. A chorus of “Thank you”, “that was delicious”, or “that was yummy” greets your ears and energizes you as the cook. And then in your mind you hear God’s voice say, “I saw you planning this meal, selecting the best and freshest ingredients, fixing them with love, and serving it all with a loving flair. You are worthy of a higher commendation than those engaged in any other line of work.” “Incredible”, you say to yourself. “God noticed me fix a meal! Really! Is this more important than what I did at the office, the patients I worked with, the car I repaired, the floor I tiled, or the math test I managed to ace, or the _____ that I did?” You are a little awestruck by God’s commendation. But listen, He’s got more to say. “This talent that I gave you should be regarded as equal in value to ten talents.”

Ten talents? Why ten? Now you are totally listening. “The right use of preparing food has much to do with keeping the human organism in health. Because it is so inseparably connected with life and healthy, it is the most valuable of ALL gifts!” Today you gave this gift to all who gathered with you at and enjoyed that delicious meal.

You whisper a faint thank you to all the praise and commendation just showered on you! Food preparation just took on a whole new level of importance and enjoyment in your mind. You aren’t tired anymore. Isaiah 40:31 comes to your mind. You’re renewed to run and not be weary as your mind races with new ideas for meals to nourish your family in their bodies, minds, and souls. The song, “Lord Prepare me to a be Sanctuary” begins to play in your mind. You whisper a prayer of thanks to God for giving you this precious privilege - cook for the household.

Hats off to the cook!

Inspiration and quotes are from Counsels on Diet and Foods by Ellen White, page 251.