a dash of Micah 6:8 and a splash of Matthew 4:4

We all have our favorite smells and spices. That special ability to make a recipe our own, fashioned just right to our particular needs and cravings. Sometimes certain combinations have that just right marriage of complete rebirth into something that you never knew you always wanted. Aside from the obvious salty with sweet or chocolate with peanut butter, life mixes in the strangest dashes of obstacles and experiences.

I’ve been struggling to make my Colorado church my home. I can’t help it, I grew up and got to attend some pretty amazing congregations and based on that luxury I continually let my expectations exceed reality. Actually that’s a general issue with me. The fact is I’ve been sabotaging my relationship with my church. The worship isn’t as good, the pastor looses my attention, and the people are unusual etc... This isn’t a judgment passed on them but more an excuse for me to remain unconnected.

Sunday happened to be a mini breakthrough for me. There’s usually at least one key point in a message that feels like a sucker punch but this time it was an illumination of everything. I barely had time to recover from a statement before another equally as powerful and humbling as the one that preceded it…I couldn’t write fast enough and frankly I barely got most of it on paper for fear of being distracted.

Our general series is about loving one another but the leading subject was spiritual growth. This is always convicting and I’m left to wonder if I’m growing in the proper increments. Like when a parent worries if their child isn’t developing at the rate of others…haunted by comparisons. Somewhere in-between the scriptures and explanations we approached the topic of nutrition came up. My light bulb started to flicker. Ding! For years my spiritual feedings have been a strict diet of baby food. I’ve had these fresh prepared meals catered to suit my personal taste.

As of late, in my new church, I’ve been malnourishing myself, rejecting certain things because I didn’t care for the look or taste of things immediately. I’ve been living like I’d been offered a buffet and I could pick and choose as I pleased. I guess that’s alright for some people and on occasion but just as I need to have a balanced healthy diet in my human body my spiritual body longs for it. Things wouldn't function otherwise or even shut down if not properly tended to.

Just to continue with the literal analogy and switch off my childlike “picky-eater syndrome” I’m going to learn to start cutting my own meat again and eating properly, no more taste testing and adjusting the menu. In this process I hope to mature my palate and develop a taste for life the way He’s intended me to.