I am a big supporter of healthy eating. I think eating well is a huge part of a healthy and happy life but every once in a while I just need some ice cream. And not the $2-should-have-made-this-at-home stuff you can get. I'm talking rich, creamy, quality ice cream. I'm talking just barely skimming the surface off before delighting in a spoonful of delicious. I'm talking give me a spoon and Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Heath Bar ice cream and the world can keep spinning, everything's okay.
I believe that food can be a spiritual experience. Most of the time, I go about my day, shovel food into my mouth, and hardly pause to notice but every once in a while I take a bite of something extraordinary and my life is put on pause while I chew. I find it increasingly alarming how quickly I and the rest of society seem to wolf down food. How is it that collectively we get so caught up in doing things that we forget to do one of the five most basic things: taste? That's the way my life has been lately. Too busy to taste.
This summer has been busy with personal growth. I've decided to affectionately call the process God and I are on spring cleaning. We're going through my heart and dusting cob webs, sweeping floors and tightening screws. It's been good. Painful at points. Terrifying at others. But good. It's also been exhausting and today my feet were dragging. I'm an even bigger advocate of emotional health than I am of healthy eating and today my reserves were empty. I dreaded journaling. I didn't want to face my heart. And I definitely wasn't up for a candid conversation with God about it. I wasn't depressed. Actually, I'm quite pleased with the work God and I are doing on my heart. I'm just tired. Feeling somewhat guilty, I told God "not today" and what did He do?
He handed me a spoon and some ice cream. In His own hilarious and kind way He told me to chillax. So I sat, chillaxing and enjoying life's very simple pleasure of tasting. As I savored each bite, I remembered all the things I love about God. I don't exactly enjoy when God does the big spring cleaning things, I am grateful for them, but I don't enjoy them. But I do love it when God does the small things. I love that the small things are just as much a part of His character as the big. Here are a few of the small things that came to mind:
- God has a quirky sense of humor that ranges from full on sarcasm (need I remind you of the original talking donkey, he wasn't voiced by Eddie Murphey in Shrek) to the gentle teasing He showed me tonight when I think I have Him all figured out
- He provides small details such as night lights and ice cream and it is He's kissing my forehead
- He paints beauty and joy onto the pages of our life so seamlessly that all we have to do is savor a bite of our favorite food or sniff the hints of lilac playing on a breeze
- God has a beautiful laugh that embeds itself into the fabric of our life, a constant reminder of the joy that is already ours
- God laughs often and always has a joke up His sleeve
- God loves to make me laugh, it's actually one of His favorite pastimes
- God is gentle, even when disciplining us His love never abandons, never forsakes
- God is the inventor of days off, He knows what it means to kick it on the beach
- God is mine. Not in the possessive I own and control Him way. He is mine in His heart. He belongs entirely and completely to me. He is devoted to me. He offers Himself completely to me, without reserve or hesitation. He is everything I need at any given moment. A sympathetic ear, a soft and comforting lion to hug, a strong knight, a tender lover. He is all I could ask for.
- In the same moment that God is mine, He is also yours. He is able to offer Himself as fully to me as He offers Himself to you. He is no less diminished by love, but grows with it.
I hope this list got you thinking, it isn't nearly long enough to cover every aspect of God but it is a strong start. Maybe you're tired too. Maybe you're thinking "not today, God" too. If so, I'd urge you to take a moment. Maybe it is with Ben & Jerry too. Or maybe it's taking a hot bath. Or perhaps it's sitting in the grass with the sun shining down. Just take a moment and remember. There is a reason you fell in love with God, remember and celebrate that. I am inviting you to take my list and expand on it or start from scratch. And if you aren't sure you do love God, I'd invite you to check each of my reasons with your own heart. I promise you that He is all yours and all these things are true about Him. He is a personal God and this is an invitation to get personal. At the end of it all, at least you have an excuse to enjoy some ice cream. = )
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