Mmmmmm . . . so many choices
The line starts with an array of salads; carrot salad, tossed salad, concealed fruit salad. For children, bright red or blue cubes of jello.
Next come the desserts; a variety of pies and cakes to tempt your sweet tooth.
If you want, choose an entree. You may pick roast beef, fried chicken, fish or my favorite, liver and onions.
At least a dozen vegetable and side dishes follow; okra, beans, turnip greens, cabbage, squash, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, to name a few.
Finally, bread to complete your meal. Will it be a roll, muffin or cornbread?
My husband and I grew up in the south in the 1960’s where cafeterias were commonplace. Both of our families frequented these establishments, often on Sundays after church. It was a great place for a family to eat. The food was good, it was faster than a sit-down restaurant and each person could choose what they wanted to eat.
I always chose turnip greens with my meal. You see, my grandfather told me if I ate turnip greens, my hair would turn curly. For the record, my hair has always been as straight as a board, except in the 1980’s when perms were the rage.
We continued going to cafeterias when our children were little. There were a couple in our hometown. But, eventually, they closed. The end of a dining era. Or so we thought.
We discovered a cafeteria in a Georgia town on our route to North Carolina or Tennessee. We try to time our travel so we can stop for either lunch or dinner. We can get a good meal and be back on the road in a relatively short amount of time. We can go down the line and choose what we want, sometimes a full meal, sometimes just vegetables. It is a nostalgic reminder of our youth.
Cafeterias are great for a variety of foods from which you may pick and choose.
The Christian faith, however, does make a good cafeteria. On matters of faith, you can’t pick and choose what you want to follow and what you don’t. It doesn’t work that way.
Take the Bible, for example. You can’t read the New Testament and neglect the Old. You shouldn’t read only the encouraging verses that make you feel good and neglect the ones that are convicting and lead to repentance. Everything in God’s word is important.
Like the little boy in front of me, who was in line with his Grandpa – You’ve got to have your green beans with your chicken tenders and blue jello.
Just out of curiosity, do you remember going to cafeterias? Especially if you are not from the southern part of the United States. Wondering if it was a “southern” thing. Do you identify with the notion of “picking and choosing ” when it comes to matters of faith? I would love to hear any feedback!
Kim Wilbanks 
God picks us all!! Many will not choose His way, the narrow way!🙏
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True . . .thanks for reading and for the feedback!
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