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A tool to use, a
blessing to welcome, the one place of the home that can provide nutrition and nurture,
both of equal importance.
The
Kitchen
In my home this is
the room that has me rooted most day-lit hours, five littles all with mouths
ajar. My family's needs keep me stationed for long hours between preparation,
feeding and cleanings. It can become a
chore, a job to do. It comes as no surprise then that food and kitchen blogs
are the number one read blogging type fallowed online. We as mothers, cooks,
keepers-of-home are looking for inspiration. I really have nothing to offer
that the 'greats' of the blog world have not already done. I'm not the best
cook, or the most healthiest, my kitchen isn't perfect (the pictures can
overlook many a flaw) or most organized. And here I am writing again about my
kitchen! I have been giving my kitchen much thought these last weeks, as I aim
to improve on its function, for me I think it comes down to so much more than that.
I long for my kitchen to nurture my family and myself, to reflect my heart and
care towards my family and others. I have chosen to allow this space of my
home, and time, to become a gracious act of services and love.
My kitchen is a tool,
and the place I most frequently touch the lives of my family members.
Nutrition
and Nurture
Speaking
love through the most mundane tasks of life.
This is not always
easy. As God is leading me to see the incredible role I play by being a willing
servant in the most humble of life's tasks, I began to change the way I think
and operate.
I have been able to
articulate how this work space can help me reflect the heart God is cultivating
in me.
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Beauty.
Creating a lovely kitchen kindles contentment
and brings me joy, I spend countless hours among pots, pans, dishes, tiding and
scrubbing. It was about creating a place that personally lifted my heart, immerging
the mundane in beauty. Though I have made it beautiful for me, others are also
drawn to the aesthetics of order and beauty. My husband and children though
most often do not comment when things are in order, they certainly voice it
when there is something amiss. Just recently during my long stretch of
pregnancy nausea and I was letting things 'go'
in order to rest. My three year old boy came to my bed while I was having a
mid-afternoon nap, he said ever so sweetly and longingly "mama come make
the kitchen pretty" of course using his adorable lisp to enhance the charm
of that moment! I would encourage you to make your kitchen space reflect your
style and the heart and soul you want to be represented in the kitchen.
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Nurturing
Food is the foundation of care for every
living soul. The services of feeding and
eating communicates to the deepest levels of who we are. From my kitchen I have
seen the power food has to speak love and care, to heal, to nurture. There is
much wisdom needed to provide the body with health and nutrition, while also
maintaining joy in food. When men (or a man) & young are your main consumers
it is prudent to ask God to lead your food choices. There is a ever needed
balance to healthfully maintain your family's needs, nutritionally and
emotionally. Train your culinary and nutritional abilities, turn a chore into
an act of service towards your family.
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Function
My work space. I no
longer have the time to look for things or spend my precious moments maintain
things I don't need. Nothing steals away at my heart like frustration, clutter
and mess. My goal is to have an orderly functional work space that can be used efficiently
and put back to beauty in quick time. I
need to be able to access my tools and have a place to return them to when I am
finished with it. I also find that if I can see it I will use it, out-of-sight-out-of-mind.
Recently I have worked to eliminate the problem. By placing kitchen essentials of
high importance in the easiest reach spots, not overcrowding and being able to
see them. And that is where the next few blog posts come in. I have been
thinking and working through trouble areas and loving the result of a carefully
thought out and functional 'to us' kitchen.
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My first area was our
Vitamin, Herb, and Medicine cabinet. I had two problems with this space. I
could never find what I was looking for, I could never remember what each member
was taking and when. I resolved these hang-ups by putting our remedies in family
groups, children, adults, viral, lose herbs,
oils, and modern meds. Then placed each family in its own tin. For the
adult every day supplements I placed on a tiered spice rack (Wal-Mart) now I
can see every bottle.
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When I pulled
everything out of the cupboard to clean and organize it I had my computer open
and started writing down what each bottle was for, for whom and how much and
how often they were to receive it. Each family member has their own box, with
the remedy and dosage behind the time of day am, noon, or pm. I laminated the
list and hung it on the inside of the cupboard door. At the different meals, I
open my cupboard, read my list, gather the easy to find bottles and viola! This
has helped considerably in being consistent with our vitamins and nutritional supplements.
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Above my medicine shelf I have a basket for bibs and baby hand & face cloths, another for bottles. Again everything has to fit into these baskets (a lot of purging here.) On the top shelf is my bulk bottles of essential oils (the blends are down with the other medicinal remedies) and a bin of extras, like my netty pot, tea strainers, and other herbal miscellaneous.
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Leaning into a God
who is guiding me on this journey of motherhood and home-maker, He is teaching
me not of the challenges but of the blessings. To even have a kitchen places me
in an elite class of the ultimate wealth of our word. To have loved ones to
serve tells a story of love, fellowship and family. Having the privilege to nurture
littles makes me a Mother and a partner in the eternal role of caring for
souls, gifts of Heaven. I am praying that my heart and actions will reflect the
abundance of these blessings.
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