Red

I am sitting here in my red kitchen. I’ve had 4 houses and several apartments in my 22 years of marriage to Jeff, and I’ve had a red kitchen in each of these homes. Red to me is such a wonderful color. It is so full of life and energy which are constants for me in my kitchen. Isn’t color and food the heart of life? Color is in everything. It is in the clouds I look at every day, it is in the food I eat, it is in the clothes that I wear and in the television I watch.


I love to enjoy the colors of food most especially. The color of a yellow or red pepper is so crisp and complete. It looks so fresh that it pulls me in every time. I buy the pepper, and then plan the meal around it. I can’t wait to see the pop of color on the plate. The food always tastes better when the color is right. It makes my day when all of the color and flavors line up so beautifully.

I also love the taste and smell of strawberries. The sweetness draws me in every time. But I’ll be honest for a lot of years I wouldn’t eat strawberries because of the texture of the skin. That is so interesting. I avoided something so wonderful and sweet because of the outside. Oh, how often does that manifest itself in my life!

Subdivisions seem to make this all too real but in reverse. On the surface, my life is so the same as all of my neighbors. I have what they have, and they have what I have. All of us have a nice home, two or three cars, a dog or cat or two, nice clothes and dinner every night. But I always wonder what is different. What goes on inside of these houses that are different? I know each family has a different dynamic and a different personality, but it seems we don’t make that the focus of our external world. It seems at least to me that the focus is always on being the same.

What does this all have to do with my red kitchen? I guess it is that I want my home, my heart, to be the same no matter where I am, but at the same time I want to show some of that personality that others may not see on the surface of me. What is it in me that wants the kitchen to be so bold and to me so inviting? I so want people to be drawn to it as it is the heart of my home. It is the heart of life as it is where the food for my family is stored and served.

The heart of Jesus is the heart of life and it is red with the blood of Christ and it is also where the food for His family is stored and served. It is the life that draws us together every day. Is that why I painted my kitchen red? I hope so, but I never thought of it in that way before. Isn’t it life, energy and food that give us all purpose? The life and blood of Christ is the answer that draws me in every time, and now I know that my kitchen reminds me of that reality even when I don’t realize it.

Peace and talk to you again soon,


Eileen