Steak On Wednesday?

Steak on Wednesday?

Wednesday nights were rough at our house when we were growing up.  Dad was the pastor of a small, rural church in Texas, and Wednesday nights were when he got paid.  By the time Wednesday suppers rolled around, it was almost always some type of goulash, using everything that had been left over from the previous week. 

Eating out was a rarity, usually confined to about once a month at a nearby mom and pop hamburger joint that sold five delicious hamburgers for a dollar.  That was great, except that there were six of us, which usually meant that mom didn’t get a hamburger.  She said she wasn’t particularly fond of hamburgers.  Only years later did we realize that she always ate one when any of us children were out of pocket, meaning there was a hamburger left for her.  In addition, I didn’t know that you could get cheese on a hamburger until I was a teenager.  Cheese cost extra, and we didn’t have extra.

Don’t misunderstand.  None of us went hungry; however, Mom was careful with her budget, feeding us well but frugally.  We all had plenty to eat, though it was always homemade and sometimes limited.  There was one Wednesday night, though, that we were hungry.  Mom had nothing to fix for us that night.  We had some unexpected company during the week and that required extra portions of the meal.  As a result, we were down to nothing on Wednesday night.  We children were hungry and asking about dinner as we dressed for church that night.  Mom split the last two slices of bread into pieces, buttered them with the last of the butter, and toasted it, as we played like it was breakfast instead of dinner.  We were still hungry.

I can still remember Mom’s face as she promised us a big meal the next day.  I can still hear Dad assuring us that he would get his check that night at church, and he would get us a surprise the next day.  However, this was years ago, when banks were only open certain hours and there were no ATM machines or check cashing places.  A check at night had no worth until business the next morning.  There were no all-night grocery stores or late night fast food places.  In other words, there was nothing until morning. 

As we drove to church, I remember Dad praying, thanking the Lord for His bountiful blessings, one of Dad’s favorite phrases, and praising Him for helping us to remember others who go to bed hungry on a daily basis.  Dad was still praying as we drove into the church parking lot that night.

After church, Dad was always last to leave, making sure the lights were out and doors were locked.  We were tired, ready for the thirty-minute drive home and soft beds.  We were past the point of complaining about being hungry and ready to see what God had for us the next day.  As we turned into our driveway, the headlights of the car illuminated something on the front porch.  We children hurried out of the car to see what was on our front porch.  There, much to our surprise, were several brown paper bags, filled to the brim with groceries, including several cuts of meats, fresh vegetables, bread, milk, and canned goods.  One of the treats in the bags was a nice sized steak, a rare luxury for a family our size. 

We carried the bags into the house and put them on the dining room table, where Dad and Mom stopped us from sorting through the bags until after we had thanked God for His unexpected goodness.  As we put up the groceries and Mom began cooking the steak for us, we found an envelope in the bottom of the bag with cash in the envelope – no name, no note, no indication as to who had deposited God’s grace on our doorstep.  We knew it was no one who had been at church because they would not have had time to get back to the house before us, much less an opportunity to buy meat, milk, and fresh vegetables.  It didn’t really matter what precious angel had been the messenger of the Lord that night.  We knew Who had heard four children’s growling tummies and Who had cared enough to send us steak on a Wednesday night!

Philippians 4:19-20 – But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever.  Amen.

© 2011 Gerry Sisk

(03/09/11)