Slow Food for the Soul

I jokingly refer to everything as food when I'm teaching. Whether it's commas on both sides of an appositive being compared to two pieces of bread on a sandwich or talking about the "meat" of a good essay, food is my go to. People can relate to food. Hey, we're always hungry, right? We have to have it to survive. It can in one minute be the thing that sustains us, and the next, it can be what makes us sick. Sometimes, our food is tampered with before it gets to us, and we "think" we have control over it, but we don't. Sometimes we go to certain "feel good" foods in order to make us feel a certain way whether we're happy, sad, or nervous.
Food is vital to our physical bodies; without it, we can't survive. However, sometimes food can be a real thorn in our flesh. Sometimes if we don't make good decisions with our food, that daily donut could very well lead to diabetes.
But sugar...it's an addiction! Caffeine! Carbs! Who am I without you!?
For as long as I can remember, I've noticed that when I'm in a rut, I go to carbs. Carbs are fast. They give us a surge of renewing energy. Don't you love them too? They make us feel excited and help us get through the day. The thought of a PayDay between breakfast and lunch makes my whole world light up! What joy a little package of sugar and peanuts can do for you.
Similarly, when I'm in a spiritual rut, I tend to focus only on the "carbs" of God's Word--the parts that will make me feel good fast and give me an energetic new perspective on whatever I'm facing. I need it quickly, too. In my rapidly changing day, I need something pocket-sized and zippy. A podcast here, an Instagram verse bedecked in flowers there. I need renewal, but I need it fast.
And yes, all of this is good!
However, oftentimes I miss out on what God has for me. So often we head straight to the "fast food" section, often missing out on the "meat" of the word. The good stuff that takes time to cultivate, season, and prepare takes a while to chew on. Sometimes it's tough, and it might not even digest easily. Sure, who's going to choose raw vegetables over a sugary donut? Vegetables might not give us a zip in our step, but they're full of life-giving water and vitamins, things our bodies need to keep moving and thriving. That roast in the crockpot takes hours to prepare, but think of the sustaining energy we receive from its nutrients.
Because of my busy-ness, I have found I tend to opt out on the "tough, slow stuff" that can sustain me like nothing else. The meat of the Word will help keep me on my toes, fit in terms of grounded in the Words of the bible, and full--really and truly satisfied--with my life and where God is taking me.
So ponder this question: Are we truly full and satisfied on what we're "eating" from the bible?

Just as it takes discipline to eat right and several days, weeks, and months to develop a good habit, it takes time in the Word to develop the skills we need to survive in this world and honor God's desire for us. 
Everything we read shouldn't send us straight to the spiritual Dairy Queen. Sometimes, what we discover in the Word is tough to handle, understand, and we might even need help in the kitchen!  We might need to seek additional guidance to understand everything we read. Too often, if we can't get the oven to work, we stop trying. (guilty) We give up. (guilty) We'll let Grandma sort it out. (guilty)Sometimes we need to consult the manual or the cookbook! (Okay...I get it...I went a little overboard with my metaphors...)
I need to grow up in God's Word. Sometimes I don't always act my age. After all, I'm responsible for teaching my kiddos healthy habits. Sometimes we expect our husbands, parents, pastors, teachers, and friends (or even the internet!) to teach and take care of our spiritual life for us, but that's not all God wants out of us. He wants us to explore the Word in order to discover who He is so we can therefore see who WE are in Him.

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. Deuteronomy 8:3-5

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Slow Food for the Soul

This Is My Story, This Is My Song

Sometimes if Heath and I ever want to chuckle, we start reminiscing on our days when we first got married...how we made it through the week on $50 worth of groceries and how our furniture and everything we owned were hand-me-downs. We chuckled about the walks we would take after supper because we had nothing but time. And oh did we think we were big when we got our first 30+ inch flat screen! Everything was simple. That newlywed stage is so precious. You can pretty much survive on air and water.

We had nothing, but we had it all.

Had I known that I would look back one day and miss those simple days, I would've cherished them so much more. I remember being pretty consumed with the future and all the things I wanted out of life that I rarely stopped to realize I was making memories. Because I was always focused on the next big thing or event, I rarely took the time to soak up that time of our lives, and now, I miss it. That first year and a half in our little house is a blur. Who was that girl? I don't even remember her anymore.



Another home, two kids, and a dream come true later, I find myself in survival mode quite often. I find myself longing for that newness...plans...craving that season of life I used to have in my grasp but couldn't even enjoy because I couldn't foresee the rapidity of time. I miss it so much that I've found it has made me somewhat bitter in my soul. Whereas I used to live in a state of perpetual excitement and spontaneity, now I find myself living in a state of exhaustion and anxiety wondering if I'll ever have another day to truly rest. Wondering if the kids are going to be okay. Wondering how Isaac will do when he goes to school next year. Wondering who's going to come to the house when it's in the middle of Hurricane Isaac and Caroline. Wondering why the thought of going to the grocery store is just about as mentally exhausting as actually going. Wondering why I am so boring now. Wondering why I find myself complaining more than praising.

I call it Mom Tired.

A lot about life is learning to appreciate what we have, and sometimes, it's just plain ole hard.



But what we have now is something beautiful. It's unique. It's precious. It's our story. It's our song. What we have now we will never have again. Sure, it's hard. It's really hard! And mamas, that woman down the road has her own version of "hard." Sure, I've been victim of eyeballing other ladies' levels of "hard," but what we don't see is that ALL women are battling with the enemy in their own ways. We never know when someone is looking at our lives questioning our level of "hard." We're human, and the enemy is going to remind us of this until we allow God's grace to show him up.



It's not our job to figure this out. God already has.

We only have this one life to live, and God is the only source of pure joy that can replenish our empty hearts when our selfish instincts tell us we need something fulfilling from the world. Somehow, the more we think we need, and the more we eventually get, the more we have to worry about and the more unsatisfied we are. The more we think we need to make us happy, the less we are relying on God to fill that void that the enemy bores into our minds. And he will bore away until he gets in.

Matthew 6: 20-21 says, "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." 

My prayer for us moms today is that we become more aware of where our treasure is and of the memories that are being made in our daily lives right under our noses. Most of us are tired, frazzled, and mentally drained. We try to do it all, and we try to do it well. But there's more with the Lord. My hope for us is that we can learn to be more present and to see the bigger story that God has already imagined for us. He's still working on us!

"Quiet down, cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep. I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep."

- Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

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This Is My Story, This Is My Song