"Bonbons at Cracker Barrel"

Every now and again, I stop at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant on Independence.   Most of us have frequented a Cracker Barrel at one time or another.  The Company was started by Dan Evins in 1969 as he tried to re-create the country store he remembered as a child.   He wanted to offer travelers a taste of Southern cuisine, like biscuits, grits, country ham, and turnip greens.   I skip all of those and head straight to the display of bonbons.

The first report of bonbons comes from the 17^th century, when they were made at the French royal court. The name arose from an infantile reduplication of the word “bon”, which means “good”.    A bonbon simply refers to several types of sweets, especially small candies enrobed in chocolate or colored icing.

Why the fascination with bonbons? Well, my mom is 99 and will turn 100 this April.  She loves bonbons.  As a child I remember bonbons were her favorite candy.  My dad loved chocolate covered cherries, but it was all bonbons for my mom. The only place I can find those identical bonbons is at Cracker Barrel.

So every month or so, I stop into Cracker Barrel, get a supply of them, and send them to her.  It is a small thing, but it gives her great delight and me even more.   Funny how sometimes little things mean a lot.  And sometimes I wonder if it isn’t really the sweet taste of the bonbon that she enjoys, but the fact that she knows I was thinking of her.

Is there someone you have been meaning to call, or visit, or send a note but have just been too busy to get around to doing it?   Is there someone who would love to know that you were thinking of them?  Is there someone you know who could use a few bonbons?   Jesus said that doing little things can mean a lot, and offering someone a simple cup of cold water in His name can be a blessing to them.  I think the same holds true for bonbons.