Food for Thought

4/24/09 Slug Day
Today has been a sleep-in, stay in your gown, 3 naps kind of day---even if not sleeping, I’ve been drawn to the bed. Mama Davenport used to call it “take to the bed.” Lying there awake, I began to plan---1st clue that I’m no longer in Texas (Oz), I’m back in TN. (Kansas). A lot of what happened in Texas is already a blur, like a dream. Just 2 days ago I had sat on the end of the bed and read the Jesus Calling entry aloud to my friends. I had emphasized the phrases, “making things fit your plans” and “compulsive planning.” Then came the “kicker;” “A mind preoccupied with planning pays homage to the idol of control.”

I then read today’s entry---“Rest,” “wait on Me,” “be still,” “passive side of trusting” and “excessive planning.” Another kicker; “Your mind is so accustomed to this way of thinking, that you are only now becoming aware of how pervasive it is and how much it hinders your intimacy with me.”
Whoa---ever felt like someone was looking over your shoulder and straight into your thoughts/heart?
I repented of this tendency and began to resist it---and I wish this were the end of today’s blog---then you might think highly of me. But “the rest of the story” continued in the same position but along different lines.
Yesterday, Dr. Ha gave me permission to begin chewing. That’s BIG! Scrumptious, delectable, mouthwatering, yummy are some of my favorite “foodie” adjectives. I began to consider how I might enter into this new and exciting phase. Crunch came to mind---I do like something I can feel when I chew---it makes me realize I have eaten. Of course, I love sour--- pickled okra, grapefruit (a morning staple) and lemon in any form or fashion. I even like bitter when it refers to turnips and greens and dark chocolate. Salty might not be my first choice for this new phase because of some lip and mouth spots that are a little sensitive and still burn…..but I do so like salty---chips, popcorn and olives. Then, of course there is my sweet tooth---For 5+ weeks, I tried a variety of ways to poke sweet things down my throat---even trying to suck icing off of Mary Flo’s pumpkin cake with a straw. It was worth the try.

CONVICTION! What about the Lord and His food? Had I chewed on that? Didn’t I still need to “taste and see” that the Lord was good?” Had I already forgotten the rest of verse 8 in Psalm 34; “How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” His food satisfies the heart with gladness. (Acts 14:17) What about my declaration early on, that I ate His words and they delighted my heart?
I felt a word study coming on----
Sour--- "But everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge." (Jeremiah 31:30) I might have to camp out here for awhile, but certainly I understand foods that put your teeth on edge---just like awareness of my own sin of “planning apart from Him” has done to me today. Trust me, my teeth are really sensitive these days---now if I can only get my heart into that condition/state of being.
Bitter---I’m sure my Jewish friends will remember these scriptures from the Pentateuch, first as they apply to the Exodus and then as the instructions for their Passover meals (Seder Supper) observed just this month. “They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.” (Exodus 12:8)
“In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight, they shall observe it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.” Numbers 9:11
Salty---"Can something tasteless be eaten without salt; Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?” (Job 6:6) “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”(Colossians 4: 6) Salt is my favorite spice/flavor enhancer---am I allowing the flavor of His life to enhance my life, so that others might see Him?
Sweet---How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103)

Just “food for thought” from me to you.