Stay hungry, my friends

"eat what is good, 

and you will delight in the richest of fare"

Isaiah 55:2

We went to another wedding a few days ago.  This was the last of the season for us.  We haven't been to this many weddings in one year, in a long time.  It's such a wonderful reminder that while things might look bleak nationally or internationally, God is always doing sweet and wonderful things on a small scale.

This wedding was an amazingly elegant affair.  Held at a tony resort along the coast, overlooking the ocean, with attentive wait-staff, and an amazing dinner.  The hors d'oeuvres included white truffle macaroni and cheese in a small silver spoon; shrimp in a spicy cocktail sauce; goat cheese with sun-dried tomato; and chicken and leek pastries.  Servers were circling with champagne and tall glasses of pink lemonade.   When we got to the dining room, it just got better.  Our appetizer was ahi tuna with a wasabi cream sauce, followed by the salad ~ field greens with goat cheese and a raspberry vinaigrette.  The entree choices were chicken or a vegetarian option, or the one Hubby and I chose ~ filet mignon with a mushroom wine sauce, diced Yukon gold potatoes, roasted tomato, spinach and tempura-battered enoki mushroom.  The slice of wedding cake we each received was either tropical coconut with a passionfruit creme filling, or vanilla cake with strawberry-mascarpone filling.

I know.  You'd like a minute to compose yourself right now, wouldn't you?  You're grabbing a kleenex to take care of that little drooling thing you've got going.  Like some water, too?  Put something in your stomach to combat the growling?

And even though we danced at the reception, it wasn't enough to work off what I'd eaten.  I didn't feel stuffed, but I definitely felt full.  Wonderfully satiated.  Feeling that pleasant feeling of contentment that I love so much.  Then I had a good night's sleep, and you know how I felt the next morning, when I woke up?

Hungry.

Isn't that astounding?  And yet, at the same time, not surprising.  Because no matter how much we enjoy a meal, we're going to need to eat again in a matter of hours.  I'm not sure why God decided to create our bodies that way.  And sometimes I find it hard that we work that way, because it can mean I'm preparing a meal for my family, even when I feel like I just finished doing that.  But I also like it, because I like eating.  When you enjoy food, it makes mealtime a pleasure, and I thank Him for wanting us to have that pleasure several times a day.

The important lesson here is that this is how we work spiritually, too.  God does not want us to go too long without being spiritually fed.  He wants us hungry, and then He wants to fill us with His finest.  Wisdom and grace and love and knowledge, every time we sit down to the banquet of His Word.  But it's not meant to hold us for long.   We need to need Him.

We get to go out to lunch tomorrow.  We are joining both sets of parents in a celebration of all three wedding anniversaries.   It's at a restaurant we've never been to, but I've looked at the menu on their website, and I'm looking forward to it.  The food looks delicious.  I don't know what I'm going to order, but it's an exciting feeling to know that when the time comes, I can sit down and choose whatever suits my fancy.  So many options.

When we sit at His feet, the option is His.  He looks into our lives and sees what we are missing, and He fills us up.   And then He causes us to hunger, and waits for us to come again.

~ "He humbled you, causing you to hunger, 

and then feeding you with manna...

 to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, 

but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" ~

Deuteronomy 8:3