Nurturing Our Family Through Food

In The Family a Proclamation to the World   it teaches:

"Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children"

That one simple declaration has made me reflect over and over again on my role in our home as a "nurturer"

I will admit, many years ago, I felt a little gypped that our only declared role was to nurture.  It is such a short one-liner.  Wasn't there more to be had as a mother?  Did we get the short end of the stick?

To nurture means: to promote and sustain the growth and development of something, to feed or support, educate or train, nourish, raise, inspire with confidence, give hope or courage to, care for,  rear,bring up from infancy,help develop, help grow...etc

Basically it encompasses all we do as mothers, and what we do best.  We have the natural innate tendencies to nurture.  Through nurturing we come to find ourselves and fulfill God's purposes.

I have a picture on my wall that is a great reminder to me everyday

We can't underestimate our value and worth in the nurturing of our children.

One of the greatest ways we nurture our family is through food

 Children are born associating mom with food.  Sometimes we try to separate ourselves as mothers from the constant need to be the food person. 

But we are it. 

I have noticed that there is little else that can bring a feeling of home, comfort, warmth, and family bond more than mom baking, cooking, being there in the kitchen doing her thing.

I have also noticed, because I am not a perfect mother and am crazy- busy like the rest of you, that there is really no homey feeling of comfort, warmth, or family bond when we as mothers, are not there providing meals and food for our families in a nurturing way.

When we are standing up around the counter, everyone "fending for themselves", and eating on their own. Besides feeling chaos, you will definitely notice that 

something is missing!

...and it will effect the spirit of your home and the cohesiveness of our family. 

There is something to sitting down together, with every one's feet under the table, eating a meal, and talking about the day.  It is worth sacrificing to make happen.

Dallin H. Oaks in his landmark talk Good, Better, Best  said this:

 "The number of those who report that their “whole family usually eats dinner together” has declined 33 percent. This is most concerning because the time a family spends together “eating meals at home [is] the strongest predictor of children’s academic achievement and psychological adjustment.”³ Family mealtimes have also been shown to be a strong bulwark against children’s smoking, drinking, or using drugs.⁴ There is inspired wisdom in this advice to parents:

 What your children really want for dinner is you."

Nurturing our family through food, in one of those small and simple things...
for which great things are brought to pass.

See: Powerful Nurturing