store bought

I made a mistake early in my marriage that I've lived to regret. Truth be told, I've made more than one. 6 I think. In the first ten minutes. Not a very auspicious beginning. This particular one had to do with food which we all know is the way to a mans heart. My heart anyway.
The 1950's were( or is it was?) a great decade. Television really took off and everyone had to have one. And they were expensive! But they sold. And people couldn't get enough - even if they only had 2 or 3 channels. Most people don't remember that most stations quit broadcasting in the early evening because there wasn't anything to show (though I can't claim first hand knowledge of this 'cause I was born in the 60's. But I've heard. People would sit and watch. And eat. Enter Mortons , Banquet, and Swansons.
TV dinners. Pot pies. Salisbury steak and gravy. Chicken and veggies.What a wonderful invention. You just open up the box, pop 'em in the oven and in 15 minutes you had a piping hot meal ready to eat. In front of the TV. Finally gone were the days when you had to set a table, eat and then have all those dirty dishes to clean up. Not to mention the rig-a-ma-roll of having to sit and look at one another and talk. So overrated.
Pot pies were the best though. Not the Mortons pot pies. They only had crust on the top. Cheap skates. Did they think we wouldn't notice? Swansons had crust on the bottom as well as the top. This was my pie of choice. Chicken flavor. Seriously though, was there any difference between the turkey or the chicken? They look and taste exactly the same ( in fact, do we really even know if that was real meat in them? Could have been dog. I guess that's meat though...). All I know is that I loved them.
In 6th grade my mom went on vacation with the rest of the kids and left me behind with dad so I could go to summer school. And being the culinary wizard he was, he went out and bought 2 weeks worth of TV dinners and pot pies. And doughnuts. To cover both food groups. I went through my 2 week supply in 4 days because I ate 3 ate a time. Despite what the box says, One does not a serving size make. I ate like a king that week.
Back to my mistake. Going into marriage I KNEW what pot pies should taste like. So I come home from work one evening and was greeted with the vaguely familiar smell of pot pie. "Look honey, I made your favorite- pot pie." Mmmmmm boy! I kiss her and rush to the table and sit.With a big smile on her face she comes over and sets this square dish on the table. Square? Where's the little round tin foil pie pan? "Looks great Terri" I lie. She serves it up. No no no no. This is all wrong I think. Where's the bottom crust!?!? I take a bite and it's good. Real good in fact. But not, in my small mind, as good as Swansons. And using that same small mind, practically filled to the brim with weeks of marital wisdom, I tell her so. It's the last time I've had home made pot pie. She has such a long memory.
I've had so many processed or prepackaged foods over the years that I think THEY are the real thing. Sometimes, I even eat the real thing and think it's just so-so. Pot pies, popcorn, frozen waffles, etc. all taste good. And they'll do.Mostly. But they aren't the real thing. And I'm looking for real. But real is sometimes hard to find. And can be expensive. But worth looking for.
My walk with Jesus is kinda the same. I've never wanted to be Baptist or pentecostal or whatever. I've wanted to be like Peter or Paul or others that have walked with Jesus.I wanted the REAL thing. But over the years I've had an awful lot of the Swanson version of Christianity and have gotten used to the taste. And you know what? I'm a lazy man and have let that be good enough. It gets me by. It's been too easy to follow the "program" and not pursue the good meal. Or pursue with much vigor. Maybe tomorrow I will run after my DAD with more uumpphh . I really do want to "eat and drink of Christ" all my days....