Time for a Diet!

My children tend to be pretty sloppy eaters, despite much coaching at each meal.  "Mary, stop dissecting your sandwich and just eat it!"  "Colette, if you pick up your spaghetti with your hands one more time, you will be all done eating!"  Sometimes only seconds have passed since saying grace, and someone has peanut butter in their eyebrows. You get the picture.  However, feed them something sweet and suddenly there is not a morsel left behind.  Upon investigation, one could surmise a meal of spaghetti and green beans had been consumed, but there would be no evidences of cookie.  Colette will literally lick a dessert plate clean if not under watchful eye.

Undoubtedly, their sweet tooth is a recognizable trait of their mother's.  Having grown up in a family of seven, sweets were treasured and evenly divvied to avoid fighting.  My sister, Melonie, and I still lament the day M&M's did away with the tan M&M as we would receive 2 of each color at candy time, and this meant two less.  My eyes have had years of training to accurately determine which glass has more pop and which seventh of the Milky Way bar is actually bigger, though my mother went to great lengths to make sure they were all the same size.  I also developed a handy knack of plotting my day around coveted food items.  A box of Golden Grahams has 8 servings.  Given we were each allowed one bowl of cereal in the morning and there were 7 of us, you can be certain that I was an early riser the following morning lest I be stuck with Wheaties.

When seeking inspiration for a blog post this morning, I found myself reading the story of young Samuel sleeping in the night and hearing his name called.  He went to the priest Eli, with whom he lived, several times, before Eli told him it must be God calling him.  Samuel waited for God to call out to him again, and received a prophecy regarding Eli's sons.  Originally I thought the inspiration for this Scripture was in that storyline, but the verse that follows is what lead me to describe my family's eating habits.  1 Samuel 3:19, "The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground."

My initial interpretation with this verse is likely incorrect.  My original thought was that it described Samuel's value for the Word, hence my thoughts on how my children are so careful with the food they value.  But as I investigated further, it appears that it might be referring to Samuel's gift of prophecy and how what he testified to, came to be.  Regardless, the thought of gobbling up God's Word, letting none of it go to waste, is biblically sound.  Are you careless with that nourishment?  Or is it a sweetness that leaves you seeking more?

Too often I think we are willing to accept the notion that God's Word is archaic or too difficult to understand or apply.  It washes away the guilty feelings one may have for not reading it.  But we cause ourselves malnourishment of the spirit when we feed on the "sweetness" of this world and neglect the fruits the Lord has prepared for us.  Isaiah 55:10-12, "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.  You will go out in joy and be lead forth in peace..."  What a picture this paints!  Budding and flourishing, seed and bread, and joy and peace.  All for the one who will devour it.

When I was pregnant with Colette, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  I was 172 pounds at the start of the pregnancy and though I thought I was a relatively healthy eater, I struggled with my weight.  The diagnosis lead to a better understanding of the affects my daily food choices have on my health and how I generally feel.  After overhauling my relationship with food, I can easily identify overindulgence or imbalanced diet as factors in my energy and mood.  I feel so much better now that I understand the nutritional needs of my body.

Our spiritual health is no different.  What does you diet consist of?  Are you indulging in movies, music and tv shows that leave you spiritually lethargic?  Are you bloated with negativity, anger, and sorrow?  Perhaps it is time for a spiritual diet.  Fill up on the bread of life and the everlasting water, and you will be surprised how little you will desire the "food" of this world.