Soup

                Sometimes when I haven’t thought ahead and I need to have something on the table to eat in less than 15 minutes, I will go to the cupboard, grab a can of store-bought soup, open it and dump it into a kettle on the stove and heat it up.  When the family (which includes my husband, 24-year-old son, and 18-year old daughter), sits down to the table I will apologize that all I have to offer is soup.  Without fail, my son Josh will say, “I like soup.”  He means it as somewhat of a joke but it is also true that he does like soup. He and Megan both consider soup and grilled cheese sandwiches to be the perfect combination for a complete “two-course” satisfying meal.

                At the beginning of the year, I announced that I would be making and serving soup once a week for our evening meal throughout the winter months. I have to chuckle at how much excitement this has brought to everyone.  At the beginning of the week, one of them will ask, “which day are you making soup?” When one of them sees the signs that I have begun the process of making a homemade soup, they will text the other, “Soup tonight!”

                You have probably heard of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series of books, compiled by motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. These books feature a collection of short inspirational stories and motivational essays. The name “Chicken Soup for the Soul” was chosen because of the use of chicken soup as a home remedy for the sick, and therefore it was “good for the body.”  The stories included in this series are meant to be “good for the soul.”

                The only reference to soup or stew that I could find in the Bible was from Genesis 25:29-34.

29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.  30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” ….34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

                I think soup leaves us feeling satisfied and comforted. I believe the stew that Jacob gave to his brother took away the hunger that had been gnawing at Esau. We know that on this occasion, the story does not have a happy ending, as before Jacob gave the soup to Esau he made him promise to give up his birthright.  Nevertheless, the stew still fulfilled the need that Esau had at that time, and was good for his body.

                As one who really hasn’t made that many homemade soups in my life, I am enjoying looking through cookbooks and browsing the internet to come up with a different kind of soup to make each week.  I am finding that these soups are not only feeding my family physically but they are also filling our lives with fun and laughter around the dinner table as we discuss the “soup of the week” and share with each other the various activities that we have participated in throughout the day. 

                So, as we endure the cold of the winter, I am glad for nourishment that is good for the body and soul and that also warms the heart and mind.

Mary Lehman