I have always said that if I didn't love chocolate so much I would be 10 lbs lighter. I learned through this past Lenten season that this fact is definitely NOT true.
I gave up chocolate for Lent. And, no, I am not a Catholic or a Lutheran or any denomination really, but I do really respect the idea of a Lenten fast. Giving up something, making a small sacrifice to help identify with the sacrifice He made for me makes sense. It serves as a daily reminder and another tool in living out Easter more than just one day. I am not sure this is the entire idea behind the fast in the Catholic church, but it is the part I take and use as a lesson to myself every year.
In the past I have always given up something that I enjoy and I know would be something that would make me stop and think and pray everyday through not taking part in it. I have done things like TV, soda, various foods and the Internet. This year I took a big plunge and gave up my favorite food of all. Chocolate. Don't laugh, I have issues with chocolate.
If you laughed before, you'll be rolling now, but giving up chocolate has been the hardest thing I have ever sacrificed in all the years I have fasted. I do actually eat and/or crave it on a daily basis. So, every time I would have a craving for my favorite food, I would remember to pray and then find an alternative something to eat or drink. But what I realized the night before Easter made me stop and praise Him for the very hard six weeks.
Nothing ever filled that craving. I could eat any kind of sweets or drinks and I still wanted more. I wanted something else. I still craved chocolate. Nothing ever filled the craving I had. And on Saturday night, as I drove home from our Easter Cantata at church and wanted something sweet, I swung through DQ and picked up a banana cream pie blizzard.
It was delicious, but I stopped at a stop light and thought, "It may be good, but I still can't wait until I get to eat chocolate tomorrow. Nothing is as good as the real thing."
And then it hit me.
That is exactly how it is with God. We can spend our whole life searching for our identity, our calling, our purpose, what will make us happy or _______________ (fill in the blank for what you think might be missing), but what we are really craving is Him.
He is what completes us.
He is where we find contentment.
He is what fills that void we can't seem to fill with anything else.
Nothing else will do.
Easter morning is what completed us, what gives us contentment, and what fills the void. The cross is the bridge that connects us to Him and all these things. Nothing can separate us from His love once we accept it in our hearts. He can do it all. He really can. There is no one, or no thing you will ever find here on earth that can do that for you.
Not even chocolate.
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