Christian Thoughts – Jemtree's Heart

It’s hard to stop pre-thinking about what I am about to read, as I blog-hop. So, let’s all just take a moment to close our eyes, and clear the thoughts ready to pounce as the words here are read.

I’ve been thinking about food today, and medical problems, and possible connections between them. I’ve had a lot of blood work done lately. So much so, that I now refer to the phlebotomist as the medical vampire. I’ve been questioning whether some of my problems are caused by what I eat.

That got me to wondering: when you think of food, what is the first thing that comes to mind? I wouldn’t be surprised if for the majority of Americans, it’s calories, fat, or weight gain.

I don’t think we have a healthy mindset about food.

We fret, we stress, we avoid, we burn, we ban, we purge, we omit, we decorate, we make scents of it…

But do we really make sense of it?

Our body needs food. That’s the one fact about food none of us can dispute. It’s the fuel our bodies are designed to function from. Do we have a healthy relationship with it?

There are certain foods our bodies have been designed around. No matter what, we need water. We need protein. We need certain salts to keep it in balance. We need minerals and vitamins. We need fiber.

It’s not supposed to be about avoiding, and focusing on counting calories. It’s supposed to be about relaxing and enjoying what the earth produces to nourish us.

Babies draw comfort from their mothers as they are nourished by their mothers. I think, there is nothing wrong with finding some amount of comfort in eating what’s good for us.

There are plenty of examples of celebration feasts in the Bible. God provided the nourishment needed as Jesus fed the 10,000 with the Word of God – Spiritual food, that our bodies have been designed to need to function in a healthy manner.

So. What do you think of when the word food is mentioned?

All too often happiness and being content are tied in with being prepared and informed. Well, for myself, anyway. So one of my greatest challenges as a military spouse has been ignoring all that stuff that makes me feel comfortable and at peace, and muddling my way through the unknown. It gets kind of scary sometimes, and if I did not have Jesus with me to help me and keep me company, it would be impossible.

Right now we are getting ready to be moved, but there isn’t a firm date. We are trying to make plans to see family, but with no firm moving date, we can’t make a firm “We’ll be there on….for….amount of time.” plans, so it doesn’t just affect us, it affects everyone who is close to us.
I like to know things, like dates, what to expect, and so on. I have never even been to the place we are moving to, and neither have our children. This is going to be an amazing, and kind of scary, change for us. What if we miss our flight? What if we fail our housing inspection? What if we are given wrong information? What if something changes and we aren’t informed? Everything hangs in the balance of communication and the expectations of others, we are at the mercy of others.

I think surrendering to God can be like that for us, sometimes. Is He really going to help us? Does He really hear us? Does He care? What if I miss Him? Is He dependable and will He really have mercy on and demonstrate grace towards me?

Thinking about when Jesus returns, and all the changes that will take place when He does makes me realize I have a known future, but it’s also unknown because there are so many things I don’t understand, so many changes that will take place, and no matter how much I try to imagine what it will be like, I really just cannot know until that day.

I’m excited and a bit overwhelmed about our upcoming move. I can do my best to prepare myself and my children, but there are still a lot of unknowns.
I’m excited and a bit overwhelmed about the return of Jesus. No matter how much I try to “prepare”, the only real preparation I can do that will mean anything, is to draw near to Him while He still may be found. (Isaiah 55:6- Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.)

I think living as a military spouse has helped me in my spiritual growth in ways I never even realized. God sure does always provide for our needs, especially our spiritual needs.