Alicia and Jeff Lee
CBF Field Personnel, Skopje, North Macedonia
“Around the table we offer friendship and celebrate life. Our meals offer a divine moment, an opportunity for people to be seduced by grace into a better life, a truer life, and a more human existence.” —Tim Chester, A Meal with Jesus
What is saving my life right now? That question is one of intrigue. There is a plethora of different things that we cherish in life at this moment. Family, friends, work, school, nature. All these things are integral to our life now. Living in Macedonia, these are foundational to culture and relationships. Specifically, we would like to mention the time we spend with our friends.
In Macedonia, we have a cultural event that is called Kafana. This event revolves around good company and good food. In Macedonia, meals are an event, and Kafana is the biggest of mealtimes. Kafana is a group of friends coming together in a traditional restaurant for about five hours. There is music, food and conversations. The culture of Macedonia is based on connecting with friends over a good meal.
Relationships are essential for survival here in Macedonia. We have been truly blessed over our 12 years in Skopje to have made several close friends. These friends have become part of our family. It is difficult to live away from our biological family. But because we have built great relationships here, we are able to survive through the joys and sorrows that this life brings. Life is a journey of ups and downs, and it is better to have a friend to journey with. One of our favorite movies is “Cool Runnings” in which the lead, Derice Bannock, gives the bobsled the name “Cool Runnings.” When asked what it meant, Derice says, “Peace be the journey.” We must have peace on our journeys.
One of our great friends exposed us to the great 13th century poet Rumi. And we would like to leave you with one of his poems.
Choose Love
Because of the beloved
My heart is happy,
My soul illuminated.
From the beloved’s greenery
Hundreds of blessed rivers
Are flowing to the rose gardens.
In order to enter into your rose garden,
The soul makes peace with the thorns.
Choose love, choose love.
Without this beautiful love,
Life is nothing but a burden.
Pray, Practice, Ponder
Jesus was always inviting people around the table for food and fellowship. Even on the night before his crucifixion, he gathered his disciples, his friends, around a time for what we refer to as “The Last Supper,” the basis of our ritual of Communion or Lord’s Supper. Gathering around the table can be a deeply holy, relational and spiritual experience. When is the last time you gathered with friends or family for an extended and leisurely meal? What was is like for you? Today, ponder the mystery of sacred time around the table, and how it connects us to God and others in new and surprising ways.