There's something special about a Sunday afternoon with the family, all gathered around sharing a meal together. To me it's the epitome of a long held country way of life; the importance of family and friends, the need for close relationships and interactions with others, in short a way to make our lives less mundane and to leave us with a strong feeling of fulfillment.
Ever since I was a child we have always tried to have the family meet up together for a meal and time to share the ups and downs of all our lives; a way to be able to share a lot of life's perils and triumphs with others that can understand and be supportive. It's something that as a child I didn't really understand the importance of, I just really enjoyed getting to see the grandparents and whom ever else would drop by, but as I've gotten older and have had a chance to see the importance of these interactions it has taken on a whole new aspect for me.
Being a student of history it's safe to say that there is the very place to start in an effort to explain what I am talking about. Years and years ago our ancestors had very little in their lives to depend upon except for family, friends, and their belief in God. There wasn't electricity, television, radio or even the Internet; it was just them and the world with no way to lose themselves into something to help them forget about their problems.
After a week filled with hard work to keep themselves fed and safe from the elements and their surroundings, it was a real treat to gather together to give thanks for making it thru another week with members of their families. Sharing a meal, conversations and the news of each, they could then recharge their batteries and be better equipped to face their individual struggles for another week.
They could find out who might need help with a particularly tough problem or help to get the crops sewn or harvested, they might even find that someone had figured out a tool or a process that could change their lives. Also they would know when someone had been ill and all pull together in an effort to lend them a helping hand or offer up a prayer.
Our country was founded on these principles of a strong family and faith but we've moved away from them in our struggle to make our lives, and that of our families, richer and fuller. In this new fast paced dog eat dog world of global economies, inflation and the rising costs of everything under the sun we find ourselves in a struggle that is at least as difficult as it was for our ancestors.
As I've gotten older I've come to realize the importance of this practice and of family and faith. The world is still a very hard place to live in at times and we can all still use that old recharge that comes with laughter and the love of a family and friends. Divorce, single parent households, the need for both adults to work just to pay the bills and get the food for the family are problems every bit as hard to face as those of our ancestors. Sunday dinner with the family is just right to fill that bill of need.
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