The girls I bring to church had a fascinating discussion this morning about fast food restaurants. 

It started when I asked them what they wanted for breakfast and the youngest one shouted, “tacos, tacos, tacos!!” There was lots of laughter as the older two girls explained that it was too early for tacos. 

And so, she began anew. “Happy Meal! I want a Happy Meal!!” More laughter and more explanations

Then the restaurant critiques began. One girl is “allergic” to everything from one fast food chain. Another loves only the French fries at partuculat restaurant. And, apparently, pizza is good from any establishment!

But, the hands down favorite was McDonald’s!! They love the hamburgers, the hotcakes and sausage, the milk shakes…everything! 

I am old enough to remember when the first McDonald’s opened in my hometown. It was a crazy idea. The “fast food” before the McDonald’s arrived consisted of either Dairy Queen ice cream treats or the A&W stand that offered chili dogs in addition to their frosty cold root beer.

McDonald’s changed the way we eat in America. Suddenly we had inexpensive and tasty French fries delivered to us through our car window! We could get something called a “Big Mac” with a soda to go. But, perhaps the biggest surprise was when they started offering breakfast items (eggs, bacon and sausage) in a sandwich. 

I thought that breakfast as fast food was a fad that would fade quickly. Boy, was I wrong. And now McDonald’s is offering breakfast ALL DAY LONG. I had predicted that this was not going to last when Poppa reminded me of something I had forgotten. The best Mom and Pop restaurants have always offered breakfast items any time of the day – it is comfort food. 

Once on noon on Sunday, I watched a kid dunk French fries in gravy while eating fried chicken fingers at a fast food place. His young mom looked at me and smiled. She explained “That’s what my mom fixed for Sunday dinner: fried chicken, fried potatoes and gravy.” I got the point – it may look different and it may taste a little different, but it’s not a new nor unreasonable. 

McDonald’s just continued a successful restaurant practice – breakfast at any time. 

Maybe I should try looking at things in a new way:

• Pizza is just meat, veggies, cheese and bread.
• Thanksgiving dinner at a buffet is just a gorgeous church potluck dinner with a gorgeous price tag. 
• E-Christmas cards send the same sweet sentiments but at a lower cost than paper sent via snail mail.
• Family celebrations not on the third Thursday of November can still be Thanksgiving!  

Try it! It may feel or taste weird at first, but it will grow on you!! And, you trying it might just be the right thing to bind up that wound or take that first step toward peace. 

Love,

Jill (just one of God’s kids)

“There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth: time to lament and another to cheer, A right time to make love and another to abstain, A right time to embrace and another to part, A right time to search and another to count your losses, A right time to hold on and another to let go, A right time to rip out and another to mend, A right time to shut up and another to speak up, A right time to love and another to hate, A right time to wage war and another to make peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)