Potato Chips and Grace
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments to just be. Enjoy a couple deep breaths. Take notice of the world around you. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.
Take a moment to consider the things, the places, the people you might encounter and have close to you today. How might those encounters feed your sense of wonder and wellness?
We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated. It may even be necessary to encounter the defeat, so that we can know who we are…
- Maya Angelou
Transformation is difficult, so it is good to know that there is comfort as well as challenge in the metaphor of life as a cycle of seasons. Illumined by that image, we see that we are not alone in the universe. We are participants in a vast communion of being.
- Parker Palmer
1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and God’s grace toward me has not been in vain.
Food for Thought
A friend and I were biking the Great Allegheny Passage, a scenic bike trail through Pennsylvania. We pedaled by day and camped by night, often settling at the edge of small towns along the trail. In the evenings, we’d set up camp, then make our way into town for something to eat and for interesting encounters with locals.
One evening, we were sitting at a picnic table outside the only open deli, awaiting our order of fried potato barrels, when a gregarious looking man approached with an armful of bags of potato chips. He began tossing bags to those whom he knew, making sure they got their favorite flavor. But nobody wanted Spicy Jalapeno Kettle Style. So, he turned and tossed the bag onto our table saying, “You like jalapeno, right?”
He sat down with us and shared his story. He’d grown up in this small town in the Allegheny Mountains, but had moved far away for a rather important job in the city with an insurance company. There he had a big house, a nice car, and lots of perks. But he traveled a lot and missed his family. After many years on the job, he developed hypertension and other health risks. His doctor told him, “You’ll have to make some changes, or you won’t be with us long.”
Our new friend eventually told us he made the decision of his life: he resigned his great-paying job, sold his big house, and moved back to the town where he was raised. He sold much of what he had, took a job packing potato chips at the plant down the road, and simplified his life. “I am a new man. I am a walking miracle. I’m happy again,” he told us. His health numbers are remarkably better. He is connected to those he loves, and he comes regularly to the diner to give back: to toss bags of potato chips at his friends with a big smile, a long laugh, and always a good story.
In the middle of telling his story, a woman stopped on the town square across from the deli and yelled his name and said, “I thought you were dead!” She ran across the street to enfold him in a big hug. The irony and beauty of that moment has stayed with me all these years later.
For the rest of our trip, as my friend and I pedaled along, we found ourselves often returning in conversation to the man who found grace and renewal packing potato chips. And then on to others whose stories captured us along the way. And then on to ourselves – wondering what invitations there may be in our own lives to make hard, but necessary, changes.
Perhaps there’s a part of your life you continue because it’s what is expected – by society, your family, your friends, a former self. Perhaps there is a voice deep within asking you to find a new freedom, as scary as that might seem.
Sometimes it can be difficult to look at our lives objectively and to acknowledge changes that need to be made. Especially when we feel like we’re doing what we’re “supposed to do”. Sometimes it takes a doctor, or a loved one, looking us in the eye and telling us that they’re worried about us and that we need to re-examine our priorities. But, as I’m sure our “chipper” friend would attest, it is worth it to listen – yes, to others, but more importantly to ourselves – to be brave enough to follow our health and happiness – and to trust that God’s grace does, in fact, meet us in our lives in ways that make us more who God created us to be.
Set aside some time to journal. Ask yourself, ‘What is one change that I need to make in my life?’ Then ask, ‘What is truly stopping me from making that change?’
Name one thing within your control that you can do – this year, this week, today – to help facilitate this needed change.
For a printable version of today's reflection Click Here!
Blessing
Breath of God, enliven my spirit, expand my lungs, enrich my blood, and make room for my heart. Inspire, too, my imagination – that I might know the ways that your grace can transform not just the big stuff or someone else’s life, but my own life, my purpose, and my days.
Amen.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Are there things that you sense are taking more from your vitality and wellness than they are giving life to you or others? How might you shift this?
What do you think the bags of potato chips represented for the man? What are your “bags of potato chips” you wish to shower upon your friends and neighbors?
When have you experienced a sense of renewal, recharge, or healthy shift in priorities? Who and what made it possible for you? How has your life changed since?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Talk with your kids about where they notice people doing something that makes them unique, alive, and true to themselves, regardless of what everyone else is doing. It could be characters in books or movies, or people in your lives. Where do the kiddos in your life feel alive and true to their own stories?
Tell your kids a story about a time when you made a decision that was scary, but turned out to be one that brought about a happier and healthier you in the long run.
Talk to your kiddos about how wise, courageous, and important it is to follow paths that feel right to them, no matter the paths that others choose.
Meet our Welcoming Voice!
Rev. Craig Schaub enjoys time with plants, hiking, biking, and sitting in the woods. He is a minister at Parkway United Church of Christ in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and is committed to community organizing, food justice, climate resilience, and anti-racism work. Craig is married and has an adult daughter.
To hear more from Craig throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
Here are Five Things to Remember When Setting Your Own Welcome Table!