I have gone to church since I was old enough to be carried as a newborn babe. By a conservative estimate, I have probably attended in the vicinity of 800 of these shared meals in 5 countries.

Anyway, that's not the real point here; the point is that there are some things we take away from these fellowship meals that are not food or extra pounds. You see, the best things we carry away are the memories of other folks.

When we started to prepare for this feast tomorrow, I started thinking about some of my favorite dishes to take and share. The one that bubbled to the top is a recipe called "Tamale Pie." This dish was once prepared by a wonderful sister in a church in Troy, Ohio by the name of Jenny Powers. You see, you can't think of the dish without remembering the person. I knew Jenny from as far back as I can remember. She was a wonderful, loving person. Our families went to church together. We visited one another. Her kids were in the same youth groups as we were and we attended the same activities.

Memories are what adds the spice.

My wife and I started looking for the recipe that Jenny had given us. We have used it many times in the past, but couldn't locate it. Finally, I started going through an old box of recipes and found some treasures from my past. I found two recipes from Apache Indians dating back to the time that I had stayed with them in Seravista, Arizona, about 35 years ago. One was for Elk barbeque and one for the sauce to go with it — a recipe that I have used many times. I remember the trip and the wonderful time we had getting to know these new people and learning just a little bit about them.

You see the food is good, but the memories are what adds the spice.

The apostle Paul wrote, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now." (Philippians 1:3-5)

Of whom do you have special memories? Have you told that person lately? Sometimes you can't, they're gone to be with the Lord or you've just lost track of them. There are so many people in life that I remember with wonderful memories. There is no way I can tell them all how much they mean to me. So if I haven't told you, thank you for making my life special by just taking time to read this, love the Lord, and share your life with God's people.

 

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© 2005 Russ Lawson, Messages from the Heart. All rights reserved.

Title: "Tamale Pie"
Author: Russ Lawson
Publication Date: December 01, 2005

The Man God Uses by Henry and Tom Blackaby Will show you how an ordinary man can be transformed into an extraordinary servant of God.

Russ Lawson is a former missionary to Africa and minister in Ohio. He now works with World Christian Literature Outreach and writes a weekly email devotional, Messages from the Heart. For more information about Russ, click here.

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