“But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children.”
(Psalm 103:17, NIV)

My Nana’s freezer corn has been the quintessential holiday dish in my family. It was a group effort to make, and, oh, did we have a system—farm to freezer in under 4 hours!

My dad would go down to the local farmer’s market where they had just picked the corn an hour earlier. My brothers and I would gather the extra tables, trash bags, and coolers. My mom would get out the big pots for boiling. I’ll skip ahead in the process and let you know I was the cut man. My family had long ago purchased a 1x4 piece of wood with a cutting blade on it that was made for cutting corn off the cob. After a couple years’ practice, I was the family expert. But, it required vigilance and precision lest I cut myself instead of the corn.

I did my work, my brother grabbed the Ziploc bags, and we would put two heaping one-cup scoops into each bag, label it, and seal it up. My dad would take it to the downstairs freezer. Then, for the rest of the year, we would thaw it and cook it with enough butter and salt to make a cardiologist nuts.

The result was one of the greatest family dinner dishes of all, and now, nearly every year, I carry on the tradition. I’m not as elaborate or as efficient, but time has taught me that it wasn’t the end product that was so great. It was the process. It was the laughter, the banter, the camaraderie of doing something decades old—something that put us in touch with the black and white photos of faithful Christ-followers that lined the hallway. The older I get, the more I’m grateful for things that money can’t buy. I can buy a can of corn, but Nana’s freezer corn—that’s not just food, it’s a blessing.

- Matthew Moore
Relationships Manager