I hear her quiet footsteps coming down the steps, her
soft voice quickly following:
I'm hungry, mama.
I smile. My heart
melts as it always does when she announces a desire for food. My
daughter's feeding disability not only prevents her from eating normally, but
also from recognizing hunger pangs, so these rare words from her lips are
especially sweet.
What can I get you for a snack, hon?
Pudding? Yogurt?
I offer a wide array of
options to satisfy her hunger, hoping one of them will strike her fancy.
No thank, mama. I'll just eat this
pretend hamburger.
She picks up the brown, plastic disk off the floor.
I pick up another piece of laundry. She pretends to munch away.
I pretend that I'm not bothered by the whole exchange.
But I am. My
heart breaks that when I offer her body real nourishment, she rejects it for
something fake -- pretend food that will never nourish.
Yet I'm more like my daughter than I care to admit.
I too, regularly choose to indulge in something
lesser, something pretend.
In a day spent constantly meeting the needs
of dependent little ones, my energy tank runs dry, and my soul craves
nourishment.
I need food that will sustain me through long hours
and thankless tasks. I need encouragement, rest, strength, purpose, hope,
a reason to persevere – yet I opt to feast on fake food. I busy myself
with social media, texting, email. I indulge in hobbies, snacks,
daydreaming. I fill up my soul with enough distractions to get me through
until bedtime – and then curiously wonder why I’m still hungry after my house
is quiet.
Perhaps we’re choosing the wrong nourishment.
Our merciful God extends a dinner invitation for
malnourished souls like mine:
"Come, everyone
who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money - come, buy and
eat!... Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for
that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to
me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear,
and come to me; hear, that your soul may live..."
(Isaiah 55:1-3)
Your soul doesn't need a distraction. It needs
real food -- God Himself. God holds out the promise of good, delightful,
rich, satisfying food -- He offers Himself:
"Come to Me;
hear, that your soul may live..." (vs 3)
True
nourishment is never found in something, it’s always found in someone.
Put
down the fake hamburger. Turn the iPhone
on silent. Ignore the text. Let the remote lie untouched. They won’t fill you anyway.
Instead,
come to Jesus. Find rest in Him. And
allow the promises of His Word to nourish, strengthen, and encourage your soul.
