Daily Bread Vs. Special Treats
I couldn't help but laugh at my clever canine yesterday as she demonstrated both her intelligence and her rottenness. Tess adores her wobble Kong—a treat-dispensing toy that rolls and tumbles with each nudge. Usually, I fill it with her regular kibble, but yesterday, I decided to add a few special treats to make it more exciting.
What followed was nothing short of comical. Like a furry tornado, Tess batted that Kong from room to room, leaving a trail of perfectly good kibble in her wake. She had one mission: extract only the special treats. The regular food? Not worth her time, at least not initially. I watched in amazement as she meticulously picked out every single treat, ignoring the "boring" kibble scattered throughout the house.
Eventually, hunger won out over pickiness, and she returned to clean up the trail of regular food she'd previously deemed unworthy. As I watched her methodically clean up her mess, I couldn't help but see a spiritual parallel.
Finding Joy in the Digital Dance
Have you ever felt like you were caught in an endless loop of frustration? Recently, Jason and I found ourselves trapped in what I like to call the "customer service carousel." We were attempting what should have been a simple task—moving our music service from the US platform to the UK platform. Sounds straightforward, right?
Oh, how wrong we were! The app cheerfully directed us to contact customer service for this transition. Three representatives later, we were told it wasn't possible despite the app's clear instructions suggesting otherwise. When we questioned this contradiction, we'd get shuffled to yet another representative faster than a hot potato at a church picnic.
Heaven’s Hotline
I'm not one of those people who has to have the latest, greatest phone. In fact, half the time, I forget to carry my phone with me. That being said, for my birthday, Jason surprised me with a nice new phone. The main reason for this change was because my old phone had been acting wonky for some time now. On several occasions, people claimed I didn't answer their call when the truth is, my phone never rang. Messages didn't always go through. And recently, it took me five tries or more to even make a call.
The frustration of an unreliable connection is maddening. You need to make an important call, but your device decides it's the perfect time for a technological tantrum. We've all been there, haven't we?
But as I finally gave up on my rebellious phone that day, a beautiful thought struck me: aren't you glad our "phone line" to Heaven doesn't work like that?
When Hope Disappoints
For the past few months, I've been seeing a homoeopath in hopes of finding a natural remedy to cure all my ills. When you live each day in pain that affects your mood, energy levels, and focus, you grow desperate for answers. So, I reached out to a local homoeopath.
The first treatment she prescribed did wonders. I felt like a different person. My pain was drastically lessened. My mood was greatly improved. My energy level wasn't exactly through the roof, but it was far better than it had been in a long time. Yup, for about two weeks, I felt like I was on Cloud Nine.
But, slowly, my symptoms began to return. We tried adjusting the dosage, but that seemed to only cause issues with my sleep patterns. From there, we tried a different treatment that not only didn't help but seemed to send me back to where I was from the very beginning.
The Other Half of the Prayer
Most mornings before I leave my devotion time, I close my eyes and whisper, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer" (Psalm 19:14). It's a prayer that has become as natural to me as breathing. The first part makes perfect sense. I want the actual words coming out of my mouth to honor God. Simple enough.
But recently, as I sat on my beanbag in my office, I paused mid-prayer. What exactly am I asking when I pray for the "meditation of my heart" to be acceptable?
The word "meditation" in Hebrew (hagion) refers to our innermost thoughts, ponderings, and even mutterings. It's what we chew on mentally throughout the day, the internal dialogue constantly running through our minds.