[todaysdate]
By Mark Azzara
I know this may sound odd but there’s a part of me that can’t wait for next Christmas.
The past few years have presented me with a real challenge – my annual quest to find some new culinary Christmas gift for a friend who invites me over for dinner every Monday night. He has done so every week for years, sometimes even when he has been ill. The only Mondays when I must forage for myself are, as you might expect, when he’s on vacation or away on business.
His generosity is not limited to me. He also does this, on other nights, for a few mutual friends. On top of that he goes all out when preparing dinner for the artists and crew at a monthly Christian coffeehouse.
This year my quest turned out to be a half-day adventure, thanks to two construction projects on a secondary state highway. And then the Google map turned out to be less than accurate so I got stuck on a jammed main road with no way to double back to the place I wanted to reach. But it was worth the trip because I got what I’d gone looking for.
I didn’t know what it was I was looking for when I walked in. It’s one of those, “OK, here I am. Surprise me” moments. And I was delighted that Penzey’s (it’s online, in case you’re interested) lived up to its promise. The store is devoted exclusively to food spices. I wound up buying four jars of spice blends that represent the seasonings used in various parts of the world so that my friend can try something new in the kitchen whenever it suits him.
I was in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, two years ago when I discovered a shop that focused on flavored olive oils. Well, I thought, that’s one gift out of the way. Actually, there was so much stuff that I bought him a birthday gift, too.
And the year before that I was in Eastport, Maine, and visited Raye’s Mustards, which claims to be the last remaining stone-ground mustard company in America. (Yes, they’re online, too.) Once again, problem solved.
I think he truly appreciates the effort, but I would be less than honest if I said I seek out these places purely for my friend’s benefit. The adventure is the reward for me. I heard about a place that’s roughly an hour’s drive from me and can’t wait to check it out in the spring. If it’s what I think it is – another blended olive oil store – I’ll have to wait until late fall or early winter to buy my gift, because olive oils have a relatively short shelf life. And if it doesn’t pan out, well, I’ll find something else.
That’s the benefit of friendship. It blesses me, and leads me to sacrifice on behalf of the one who is my friend. He, I and our mutual friends are members of a Christian prayer group, which is how we got to know each other. He has taught me some valuable and very practical lessons about what it means to be Christian, not the least of which is kindness. It inspires kindness and sacrifice in me.
That’s the way Jesus wants friendship to be – relationship marked by mutual kindness and sacrifice. It’s one of the clearest ways we demonstrate the reality of Jesus to another person. And I can’t wait for the next opportunity to do so.
