A Dinner Disaster July 7, 2026By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window The other day I was determined to make a really good dinner. I found a new recipe for a chicken dish that promised to replicate one of my husband’s restaurant favorites, and I couldn’t wait to try it. I made a quick stop at the store to get everything I needed. Then I mixed the spices, created a glaze, prepared the chicken, chopped up broccoli, and roasted some tiny yellow potatoes. The kitchen smelled so good. For once, I was excited to put dinner on the table. But when we sat down to eat, my husband tasted the chicken, and I could tell there was a problem. He was trying to eat it, but finally he admitted it was too salty. I tasted it, and it wasn’t just too salty. It was terrible. Even though I had followed the recipe, the dish was inedible. So, we made a dinner out of broccoli and potatoes, and I dropped the sad, untouched chicken in the trash. By now in my grown-up life, I think I know how to get an edible dinner on the table. But sometimes even when you follow the instructions, life doesn’t work out. You can play by the rules, do just what you’ve always done, and find you have different results. Maybe we learn something in those moments. Maybe we just gain a new appreciation for the times when everything does fall into place. I tried to be grateful that even though dinner ended up inedible, no one in my household went hungry. We might have grumbled a little about the salty chicken, but everyone had enough to eat without it. It can be hard to be grateful for the times things fall apart, when we encounter those less-than-perfect moments. But God is there in those experiences too—and maybe we have something to be grateful there, too. “Someday we will thank God not only for what He gave us, but also for that which He refused,” said Fulton Sheen—who is on our minds as we approach his beautification in September. Perhaps there is a gift in not receiving what we expected. Maybe there is a blessing that comes in not getting what we hoped for. It might be harder to see and appreciate, but these might be opportunities to grow closer to God as we seek to recognize the gift in those unwanted experiences. And when dinner is a failure, sometimes you just might need to sneak in an emergency trip to enjoy one of God’s greatest summer gifts—a treat from the snowball stand. Also see Backyard diamond Saving your news Eternal investment Yes and no Silence and stillness Then and now Copyright © 2026 Catholic Review Media Print
