Abundant Blessings at the Itty Bitty BBQ (o7-11/2026)

I’d been wanting to visit the Itty Bitty BBQ at our local beach all summer, but other commitments kept me away until yesterday. I know the family who owns and operates it, and I wanted to show my support to them on their new endeavor. As often happens, I went in hopes of helping another and came home myself abundantly blessed. Life’s like that sometimes, don’t you know.

When we arrived at the Itty Bitty site, the owner welcomed us from his station behind the grills and smoker. We stepped over to the window where his three sons greeted us warmly. The oldest took our order and rang us up. The other two were putting things together in the background, working like a natural team. We made our way to the tables and benches created just for the venue, overlooking the perfect span of the beautiful lake reflecting the clear skies overhead. The sounds of nearby laughter and conversations punctuated our space.

It was an amazing experience. The day was perfect, just the right temperature with just the perfect breeze coming across the gorgeous Rock Lake onto Sandy Beach and its park area. There were people everywhere enjoying themselves: splashing and swimming in the lake, sunbathing on the sand, sitting in chairs visiting with others, eating at picnic tables.

All ages were represented. My two friends and I representing the upper age brackets were at a table with a young family with a one-year-old and a three-year-old. And just a few feet from our table, a flock of teens were playing some game with a round ground net and a small ball. Young adults sat and talked as they sipped their beverages and ate their beach fare. Joy was apparent.

Within minutes, the family delivered our dinners to the table. The food merited the trip and then some, lovingly prepared by the owner and served up by his sons.  As we sat and at our scrumptious meals, we were joined by the owner and chef, a dear friend, who sat and visited with us and checked on us a couple of times. The youngest son kept an eye on the tables, and no sooner were we done, then he showed up with the most authentic smile and took our dishes for us. There we sat, full to the gills, immersed in sunshine and feeling abundantly blessed. No after dinner mint needed; it was about as perfect as one gets this side of the sod.

The experience stayed with me all the way to pre-bedtime reflection and pondering. As I remembered the experience, my mind kept returning to what the family had provided for the building of community: great food prepared and served with love, a place to gather comfortably and linger in conversation, a generational presence, a family working as a team showing us what is possible when we share a purpose and are fueled by love. Yep, I went thinking I was helping and came home fully fed.

I won’t soon forget the abundant blessings I received at the Itty Bitty.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.