No Picnic

The phrase "every night is date night" caught on - just a random comment, sort of tongue in cheek about every night at home - together -  being one of bliss.  Well, not bliss, but you know, agreeable to say the least.  Jokingly, Mike added to the phrase,"every night is date night....but it's not always a picnic."

I get it! 

After 49 years of marriage, some evening meals are more memorable than others.  Some we cherish. Some we want to forget, even as recent as a few nights ago. A later golf round for him. Distraction and poor communication on my part made for a  "no picnic" night. My fault and I apologize. 

 

Picnics are supposed to be light-hearted, casual, mostly outside, often celebratory with alfresco food and crisp white wine.....a spirit-lifting kind of meal and often spur of the moment.  It's not so much about the food, but the experience of  changing it up a bit - especially during this time of sheltering.  So, why not find the picnic basket, fill it with some simple, favorite foods, and carry it to the back yard?

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is when the resurrected Jesus is grilling fish on the beach and the disciples, dejected, have returned to their jobs of fishing. They're not far from shore, when their master calls out  from the shore and asks them if they are catching anything. Disillusioned and exhausted they hold up their empty nets.  He tells them to throw them to the other side and they can barely draw in the full nets.  Peter looks up and  recognizes the person as Jesus and heads to shore, followed by the rest of the disciples.

A meal together of grilled fish and bread after thinking Christ was dead must have been some happy picnic. The surprise element for one thing. Disillusioned about loss and exhausted from trying to keep their jobs filled their hearts and minds and there was little time to think about a meal, much less the picnic Jesus had prepared. And then, just to simply be together again with Jesus had to be the true fellowship for which they longed.

Don't you see the similarities for us today? We were created for fellowship - to not be alone. We were made to break bread together. But we're disillusioned about our losses and exhausted trying to keep life as we know it. It's no picnic on many days. Jesus told his disciples -  and he tells us - this life will be difficult. There will be tough times, but keep on loving each other.

And plan the picnic.

"They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts..." Acts 2:46