I think of myself as an amateur foodie. After my freshman
year at Cedarville, I returned home to Rochester, New York, for a
summer management internship with Wegmans Food Markets.
(I’m envious of you East-coasters who have regular access to this
one-of-a-kind, local supermarket!) I spent my summer in the
prepared foods and catering areas, serving under the executive chef.
It was a unique opportunity to learn, experiment, and realize my love
for culinary experiences.
In the years since, I’ve made some of my favorite memories around a good meal. I don’t always
remember the food I ate, but I do remember the people I love gathered around the table. A lot of
life happens with good food and good friends.
Those friends became family last year as my wife and I walked through life with cancer. Allie was
diagnosed just before Christmas 2011. The following 10 months involved biopsies, scans, blood work,
chemotherapy, and a stem cell transplant. As a tangible expression of the body of Christ, we received
73 meals during those months from our Cedarville and church families. Our community showered
us with food and offered encouraging words and prayer ... oftentimes in our kitchen before leaving.
When life threw us a curveball, we received with humility and grace “our daily bread.”
Also last year, some very dear friends walked through deep waters as a result of suicide. Both of
our families experienced pain, suffering, and loss. As I reflect on that time today, our grieving and
growing together often occurred around a meal. Our basic needs for food and community were
met as we gathered around the kitchen counter or sat at the dining room table or leaned against
the living room sofa.
A new book by Shauna Niequist came out this spring, titled
Bread &Wine: A Love Letter to Life
Around the Table
. It’s been sitting on our kitchen counter as my wife works through it. I want to
share the author’s poignant advice from her last chapter:
This is what I want you to do: I want you to tell someone you love them, and dinner’s at six.
I want you to throw open your front door and welcome the people you love into the inevitable
mess with hugs and laughter. Gather the people you love around your table and feed them with
love and honesty and creativity. There will be a day when it all falls apart. I can’t change [that] ...
Can’t fix, can’t heal, can’t put the broken pieces back together. But what I can do is offer myself,
wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That’s
all any of us can do. That’s what we’re here for.
I hope this “food issue” reminds us all to steward well what we’ve been given and to receive
the gifts from our Father with thankfulness. So enjoy good food, conversation, and friendship this
summer at your table (or patio)!
Cedarville Magazine
251 N. Main St., Cedarville, OH 45314
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Cedarville Magazine
EatingTogether
In Closing
Bon appétit,
Joel Tomkinson ’03
Editor
