God We Thank You

I have issues with saying the blessing at meal time.

I know this is such an unpopular opinion to have, but I just have to get this off my chest.

I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE (myself included, sometimes) SAY A "BLESSING" AT MEALTIME.

I'm not confused by the concept of being thankful that God gave us food.  I AM thankful that God gave me, and my family, food.  I really am.  Not just in a "yeah yeah yeah, I'm thankful God gave me food. Whatever" kind of way, but in a legitimate, "I get that there are lots of people who DON'T have food, and I get that it's ONLY by God's provision that I DO have food" kind of way.

But....

Saying the blessing to me seems like so much more of a formality, or an obligatory, or an "expected" thing to do.

Why, for example, do you not say the blessing when you drive through McDonalds and order a fry, or an ice cream?  Are you  not thankful for that?

How come, if you get hungry at work, and you munch on the granola bar that you brought, do you not close your eyes and say a blessing for that?  Didn't God make that granola bar available to you as well?

For that matter, why don't you say a "blessing" when you are at your gas pump?  Aren't you thankful that God gave you gas?  How about when you drink a bottle of water?  Thank GOD we have clean water to drink...seriously...but no one says a "blessing" for that.

If your toddler goes out in the backyard and has a popsicle, do you remind them to say the blessing first?  Or is it only if they're sitting at the table, that a blessing is "required"?  OR is the rule "only if it's a substantial meal, do you need to say the blessing first?".  Or is it like a "we say the blessing three times a day, no more no less" kind of thing?

One quick disclaimer...

We DO say the blessing with Gunnar, but that is because I feel like at two years old, any possible opportunity where I can make God real, and relevant, and practical to him, I'm going to take it.  I want him to understand that God is loving, that God provides for us, that every gift we have is from God, and I feel like when we thank God, our loud, for what's on our plate, it drives the point home to GUNNAR that God gave us our food.

But here's what annoys me....

I hate anything that people do, especially "spiritual" things, that they're ONLY doing because,

a) its just what you're "supposed" to do
b) it's what other people think you should do

when in reality, you personally, have no idea why you're doing it.  Its simply rote, routine, robotic.

Another disclaimer..

I DEFINITELY am guilty of doing this. I'm not calling anyone else out with this rant.  I'm calling myself out.  I do not always say the blessing before every meal, and I don't feel guilty about it.  I ALWAYS say it though, when I'm around other people who I know expect it.  In the pre-Gunnar days, Nason and I did NOT always say the blessing before every dinner, but you can bet your bottom dollar that if we had people over who we knew DID say the blessing before every meal, we'd FOR SURE be saying it that night.  Fake!!!!  Phony!!!!

I'm not opposed to saying a mealtime blessing.  I guess maybe it's a good way to ensure that, if nothing else, at least three times a day, you are reminding yourself of where your blessings come from.  I would just like to think that I could somehow maintain a thankful heart and attitude throughout the day without having to spew out a canned prayer, at designated times, whether my heart and mind truly were aligned with what I was saying or not.  I would like to think that my relationship with God is such that He and I are communicating ALL throughout the day, and that prayers of thankfulness are just intertwined throughout my regular conversations with Him.

But who knows?  I'm probably totally in the wrong here.

My blog posts are nothing more than my opinion, and the random thoughts that bounce around in my head.  They are definitely not meant to sway anyone else's opinion (well for sure this one isn't, anyway), and I'm sure they're often times totally off base.

I guess I could have added this to my "Things I Don't Do" list.

"I do not say the blessing at every mealtime" (except [disclaimer #1] with Gunnar and except [disclaimer #2] when I'm trying to impress people by how Godly I am])