I get more excited over eating hamburger helper in my own bed than 95% of the “fancier things” I get to occasionally enjoy. The things that “mean more” definitely don’t have to “cost more”.
What “simple treat” means a lot to you?
What do you think makes it so “special” to you?
I remember eating a lot of my meals with my grandparents when I was growing up. I can remember Bill sitting at the table with the window open beside him, and meals of mashed potatoes, biscuits, gravy, and maybe some mac and cheese on the table. Or maybe some tomato soup with macaroni noodles or okra in it. Or maybe chicken stew with saltine crackers. These were the staple meals of my life growing up “on the mill hill” in Pacolet Mills, SC in the late 1900s with my grandparents. There wasn’t anything out of a box or nuked in a microwave, and we didn’t “grab snacks” back then (in contrast to my bad habits these days).
So I never remember Nana and Bill (my grandparents) fixing anything like Hamburger Helper when I reminisce about “the good old days”. But I do remember my mom and I on what feels to me like very special occasions having Hamburger Helper in that little basement apartment below Nana and Bill just for the two of us. Just me and my mommy.
My mom probably thinks back on this very same occasion and is overly critical of herself. She might wish she had done this or that different. Or she might wish that she had been able to take me to fancier places or been wise about pricing me with healthier food choices. But there are so many precious memories we made just the two of us, in that little basement apartment. My first Hamburger Helper was something my mommy made me that was a special treat. It was completely different than the normal, day to day stuff that I was more accustomed to — do it could have probably been anything she made. Yet it was Hamburger Helper, and it was special because SHE made it for me.
Today, it is my wife that makes this special treat for me. And it isn’t nearly as good if I try to make it for myself. She may think that I’m trying to get out of cooking when I say that. But LOVE truly is the best seasoning that can be added to any food.
Just as my mom’s and wife’s cooking for me are seasoned with Love, I want my life to be seasoned with grace and love towards them and all around me, Lord. Help me to remember how precious and valuable each and every person around me is to you, Lord. It isn’t what we do, or what our last name is, or how much we make, or even how much we try to earn your love. Your love penetrates even the hardest of hearts and your wisdom humbles even the proudest of us — like a well marinated and tenderized meat. Even when we might look at someone and consider them simple, or unremarkable, or problematic, or common — remind us just how special they are to you. And just how special we are to you, even with all of our own flaws. Jesus, your presence is so much sweeter even than my favorite “special treats”. Thank you for however I might be special in your Kingdom as well. Amen.
Harold J. Ballinger 