David and Sally’s Bowls

I think we’re down to two of them, and the two that are left are worn and have chips around the rims; we started with four of these bowls and now we have two. Until now Vickie and I are the only ones who know the memory associated with these bowls, and once you know it you may think it no big thing, but it’s a sweet memory to us.

The bowls are 3 inches deep and almost 7 inches across which makes them quite functional for chili and stews and soups and some pastas – I’m not likely to drip or spill using these bowls. They are white with pink and light-blue rings at the top and bottom and between the rings are floral designs 6 inches apart. We first used the bowls in 1989 for beef stew, a few days ago we used them again for the same beef stew recipe. I don’t know what the recipe is; I know it’s baked in the oven, that is has beef and mushrooms and carrots and a thick thick broth – it’s basic in content but it’s one of my favorite dishes.

These are “David and Sally’s bowls” because not long after that first home-meeting at Alice and Gordon’s we invited David and Sally over for dinner and that was the first time we used the bowls. Vickie decided to make beef stew (it was winter) and we needed some good beef-stew bowls, after Vickie made a trip to Pier One we had four new bowls for dinner.

David and Sally were the first guests we had in our home after our move from Baltimore to Richmond; there is no way to count the many meals we’ve shared with each other since that night, and I have no idea what the various meals have been – though it’s been a wide range – but I remember what we had that first night and I think of that night when I see the bowls.

To many of us a meal is just a meal, but to others a meal is an event with meaning. The Middle-Eastern friends and acquaintances we’ve had over the years still know the significance of eating a meal with others, especially in a home; eating with others is a big deal to me, even if it is limited to bread and drink. Perhaps the more basic the meal the deeper the meaning? (I’m thinking of a meal of pinto beans and cornbread with a couple in Nashville as I write this.)

Is there anything in life as precious as friendship? Abraham was called “the friend of God”, Jesus tells us that we are His friends, and the Scriptures so closely weave our relationship with God and others that we can’t separate the two – we can’t say we love God and hate our brother – if we do the Bible tells us that we are liars.

Friendship forms its own character, just like those bowls or a well-worn shoe. Friendship isn’t out to impress anyone and it isn’t perfect, but you stick with it and you realize that the imperfections are part of the package, they are part of this human pilgrimage. You aren’t going to find friendship at Pier One or in a self-help program, you can’t buy it, you can’t force someone into it, you can’t make it happen; but if you are faithful in relationships you’ll find it, if you pan for gold you’ll discover it, and when you do find it rise to the challenge of taking care of it for it won’t take care of itself.

Those bowls are not much to look at with the natural eye, but with the eye of the heart they evoke a treasury of friendship.