What’s Cooking in Your Kitchen, Besides Food?

If I could redesign my kitchen, besides the usual upgrades one would install in a worn, old kitchen, I would be tempted to widen space to include comfy sofas, because it seems the kitchen is where folks usually gather when they visit.

We usually stand around in the kitchen or even sit in the floor while we cook the food and get ready to serve a meal. Pleasant aromas arise while we greet each other, serve iced tea, ask about each other’s day, listen to the latest adventures.

A great deal of our social time (business lunches, friend dates, family discussion, new relationships) occurs while sharing a meal together. Since we all have to eat, and on a regular basis, meal time can become a precious memory—making treasure to be lovingly prepared for—to purposefully entice and engage heart-felt conversation that strengthens relationships.

A friend (Ben Fike) recently quipped, “The family that gnaws on bones together—stays together.”

Restaurants are nice, but they are noisy, full of interruptions, and are designed to get you in—and out—FAST. In our rushed society, the art of hospitality seems to get lost. People don’t have time to clean their house and don’t want to invite people in to see their mess.

Recently someone told me that hospitality is a powerful weapon—that invites people in, draws hearts to linger, to rest, to open up—to be filled with not only food, but acceptance and love. Just welcoming someone into your home to feed them from the abundance of your own life disarms the enemies of loneliness, despair, or insecurity. Give, and you receive much more back.

I want my home and life to be a safe haven where people want to return, because they feel embraced, soothed, and nurtured. A little time and effort goes a long way. Gooey, fresh, homemade chocolate chip cookies tear down walls.

Plush sofas could also be a very nice touch.What’s Cooking in Your Kitchen, Besides Food?