Dinner at Almost 9 pm: It's Good to be Flexible | Family Economics

By Sandy

I’m glad I could be flexible with our dinnertime last Sunday night. We really wanted to see our friends. And their commitments on this particular Sunday were going from one thing to another. They weren’t commitments of wasted time. They were commitments of reaching out and touching lives.

So when we asked our friends to come over for a steak dinner, we were willing to push our dinner to 8:30 p.m. – the soonest they could get to our house. Not only did we want to see these friends, we knew that coming to our home would be a relaxing way to end a very busy day for them. I had purchased some steaks at the “10 lb. Meat Sale” that we wanted to barbeque, along with veggies and salad from our yard (and of course yummy bread). My friend brought the dessert (delegation!)

We pulled fresh potatoes from our garden and after baking them, we sliced and seasoned them. Using crookneck squash and lemon thyme from the garden, we added sweet onions and peppers, olive oil and fresh lime juice and spices. I then prepared my steak the simple way: I rubbed olive oil on each steak, sprinkled with Stevia (you can also use Splenda or regular sugar), and steak seasoning on both sides. The bread was sliced, wrapped in foil, and placed in the oven.

All food was prepared in 30 minutes and ready for the grill!

We all long for connection. We all long for purpose. And what this couple doesn’t know is that they actually help my husband and me to become better people by cheering, supporting and encouraging us in many ways.

Yes, I’m thankful that I could be flexible last week. I wasn’t always that way! And part of what I am continuing to learn about flexibility is that it starts with a willingness to do something different. To be able to go with the flow, and make a schedule change.

With that willingness a blessing is usually right there ready to follow.

When's the last time you were actually flexible with a dinner date?