Crabby Crab

Saturday March 10th a bunch of us worked the Kiwanis Club Annual Crab Feed! We served 400 hundred hungry (gluttonous) people buckets of crab! And then at the end of our shift, we got to eat this succulent seafood, too, The whole place was decked out with decorations like a scene from the Pirates of the Caribbean and The Little Mermaid.



It was a fun time of serving together. Our group was asked back for our fourth year in a row by a PCC member who is part of the Kiwanis Club. Every year they generously donate to our ministry and give us a chance to have fun and I also was reminded of a spiritual truth, too. Did you know that food can have power over us?



It was our job to keep the bowls filled with crab on each table. Hundreds of people had paid to come and indulge in this annual all you can eat ritual. There would be times when the ravenous crabbers would roar to get our attention for a refill. Their bowls would be half full and they'd already be waving us down for more. These people were determined to get there money's worth. I think some planned to be wheeled out on a stretchers ready for a stomach pump. It was hilarious. But because our own personal crab feast had to be prolonged until the end AFTER the starving "paid" guests had got their fill, I too joined the gluttonous spirit club. As we kept refilling bowls I started to worry if there would be any left for us at the end. I started thinking of strategies to horde some of the crab in the back room. I was panting my tongue like a dog hungry to stuff myself with crab, too.



Why does food have that affect on people? Answer: there's a connection with food to love and satisfaction. We often don't think about this but food has a huge connection to God and our spirituality. It's true and hard to admit. Remember Pascal's God shaped vacuum theory? Everyone has a desire and longing for God and we all try to fill it with everything but Him. I fall in that camp. I can use food for a quick fix. Some use sex, TV, drugs, adventure, work, shopping, and some use food (to feel full, kill pain, comfort, etc). God will speak anywhere. I love that these deep thoughts came while pirates pranced around with helium dolphin balloons.



I am happy to announce that I did enjoy A LOT of Crab, but stopped before getting full! Thankfully eating crab is a lot of work and takes a lot of time to eat cause you have to crack open all the shells. I didn't have the patience to overeat! :) And I wanted God to make me full.

Next year I want to be a pirate!