Think About What You Want to See on Your Plate

Think About What You Want to See on Your Plate

Posted on by Michele Morin

My son called with a question, and (for a change) the call was actually for me. (I don’t do home renovation or car repair questions.) He had been raking blueberries and had settled down to pick them over, removing the unripe berries, leaves, and stems. It’s slow and painstaking work.

“How clean do you get your berries?” he asked.
The question caught me off guard, so I said the first thing that came to mind:
“Think about what you want to see on your plate.”

Over thirty years of preparing delicious wild blueberries for my freezer was embedded in my response, but I was really asking, “Do you want green berries in your pie or stems in your muffins?”

We agreed together that the process of winnowing and picking over blueberries in July is both hot and tedious. We also agreed that it’s worth doing well, but my mind wouldn’t leave the concept alone:
“Think about what you want to see on your plate.”

When I’m making a salad or chopping meat and vegetables for a soup, that’s what I’m thinking. That’s my guiding principle. What do I want to wrestle with at the table? Isn’t it easier to do the work with a sharp knife in the kitchen?

We All Have a Plate

Every day, you and I make choices that sift and winnow. Will I follow God’s way, or will I make up an alternate route? Psalm 1 is clear that the righteous life is one way and the ungodly life is a completely different way:

Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.”
(Psalm 1 ESV)

We all have a life to manage. We all have a “plate,” and while we are not sovereign over every detail, the choices we make standing at our kitchen counter or walking toward the crossroads of decisions both big and small, will show up on our plate—for good or for evil. What story do you want to be able to tell?

May we walk in the known way of the righteous, making choices that lead to a well-watered, deep-rooted life before God.

Every day, you and I make choices that sift and winnow. May we walk in the known way of the righteous, making choices that lead to a well-watered, deep-rooted life before God.

Holding You in the Light,

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Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a Bible teacher, writer, reader, and gardener committed to the truth that women can become confident Christ-followers and students of God's Word. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty-plus years, and together they have four married sons and a growing fleet of adorable grandchildren. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

31 thoughts on “Think About What You Want to See on Your Plate”

    1. I think there’s a lot to think about on this vein, and maybe one of the biggest “plate” questions would be, “What’s mine to do?” It’s unutterably rude to reach over and take food from someone else’s plate, but when we’re unhealthy, we think nothing of reaching outside our boundaries, “our plate,” and interfering with someone else’s decisions. Especially if we love them a lot!

      Liked by 2 people

  3. I’ve never picked blueberries, but I appreciate not having green ones or stems in my muffins. 🙂 That’s true of so many things–getting all the corn silk off before boiling the corn, cutting veggies into bite-sized pieces so as not to have to do so at the table. Our choices will affect what comes after.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Such a simple question but it does give us a lot to ponder. I know I’ll now be thinking about what’s on my plate and what I want to see on it, and I hope I’ll apply the lesson well.

    Like

  9. Such a simple message and yet, one that is thought provoking. While I have not ever picked blueberries, I pick through each basket when I buy them at the store to get rid of any stems that may have slipped by. I also am very picky about getting all the “hair” off from my corn before I boil them. May I be more picky about my spiritual plate each day as well. Something to think on for sure!

    Like

  11. ‘What do I want to wrestle with at the table?’

    I can always count on seeing life through a fresh perspective when I come to visit you, friend. And you never disappoint as you give me just a bit of a nudge forward, onward, upward.

    Happy end of the week to you.

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    1. I appreciate the image of you standing there alongside me, looking down the barrel of a sentence or a thought.
      When it’s time to wrestle, may we always have the privilege of picking the venue!

      Like

  13. A thought provoking question that enables us to power through the tedious task to get the result we want.

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  15. Congrats- highlighted this week! I have been saving this one for today , seems to fit with what we choose to put together for our Thanksgiving meal, what we’re thankful for on our plate, and what we need to add or remove. ~ Rosie

    Like

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