Crying with a Loaf of Bread Under Your Arms!

I’ve always loved to eat. I’m definitely an emotional eater because food makes me happy.  I make no apologies for that either. As I ate dessert recently, my mind went back to a time when I spent a Sunday afternoon with my second family, the Boyds and Reads.  My friend Sharissa and I have been friends since the day I knocked on her dorm room door over 20 years ago and introduced myself.  Imagine that! We were instant buddies.  She often invited me on weekends and holidays to spend time with her family.  We spent one day at her grandparents, Granny and Daddy Bob's home.  Her family reminded me so much of my own.  They loved each other and enjoyed getting together every Sunday.  This particular day her sweet grandmother made a peach cobbler.  It was so good I almost cried!   The peach cobbler was amazing but that wasn't the only thing that got my attention.  It was the fact that the pan was empty and still warm! Yes we ate it all before it got a chance to cool off!

I am so grateful for that wonderful family and the memories I have with them. I think of them and that day often.  I want my family to enjoy my food and each other but that’s not why that day stays with me.  I remember it as I examine my walk with the Lord and spending time in his Word. With the word of the Lord being my bread, am I as eager to devour?  When it is laid before me, do I take it in? Do I crave God’s word? Do I long to sit at the table and feast with Him?

My mother had a saying when I was younger.  When I complained about not having something or wanting something more, she would say “You are crying with a loaf of bread under your arms!”  Meaning, I already had provision with me. I already had everything I needed. The word of the Lord is our provision. It is constantly with us. It is everything we need.  

Do we indulge? Or do we cry with this bread tucked under our arms?  When we hear it, do we voraciously take it in? Or do we treat it as day old bread? 

Are we truly in love with God's word?

In the Bible, love is equated with sacrifice and giving. 

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." 

Ephesians 5:2 "and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

What do we sacrifice or give up to spend time in God's word? Sleep? Television? Computer? Facebook?  

We love what we sacrifice for. What do you love?

Granny has since gone home to be with the Lord, whom she loved most. I think about her sweet smile often. I am still trying to make her peach cobbler! I'm not quite there but I'm sure she would be proud!


Blessings!

"When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name,  Lord God Almighty." Jeremiah 15:16

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