Hungry

In July I figured it was time to post again. That way I could feel accomplished by updating twice in a year, instead of only once. I sure do wish I could be one of those moms who updates several times a week with witty and encouraging remarks to the rest of humankind. Then someone would discover me and ask me to speak at some international women's conference, and I would be hailed as superwoman... capable of juggling many tasks, and still continue to feed my theological wisdom. Ha. I'm kidding. Sort of. Its funny how we are always grasping for more, and most of the time its for people to notice. There just isn't anything gratifying in doing things if nobody is going to see. And yet that's how it is. Mama's get up all night long, still waking as soon as the sun does, running to accomplish laundry, scrubbing toilets, preparing breakfast, and multiple other jobs that are just going to be undone by sundown. But you know what? Jesus sees, not just the mommy things,  but the other things that make other people's lives better. My new quest is to set down my pride and to stop announcing to the world all these "things" that I need recognition for. I am trying to be a new, humble person. That's just a side note. I am so easily distracted lately. Another side note, now that I am not announcing things? I signed up for a mud obstacle run. Just a lil' ol' 5k. But it will be super fun! Sometimes the mommy things need to be set aside so that I can just be... not a mommy for an hour or two.

So, here's the whole reason of me updating. Something I've been thinking on for awhile now. Hunger. Did you know that there is a new term for the people who run out of food every month? Its called "Food Insecure." I think its ridiculous. Doesn't everyone run out of food? We do... but then again, maybe we don't actually run out. Now that I'm thinking about it, we just run out of food we actually want to eat. Its not ridiculous to run out of food all the way... that used to happen to us, but then Jesus would ask someone else to leave a box of groceries on our front step. We never knew which people were doing that. How did they know? Sometimes it was money in our mailbox... I'm digressing again. I'll get back to that.

A magazine I was reading featured an article on Hunger in America. (Maybe I should have specified this. I'm not talking about poverty in Africa...) So, one of these families they discussed included a little boy who refused his free breakfast at school, only to go home "starving" and begging his mom for corn dogs and tater tots. Um... is this hunger? If he was hungry wouldn't he eat the food in front of him? The article goes on to talk about how people with no cars continue to be hungry because they live a half mile away from the grocery store. Can't anyone walk? Bus? Catch a ride with a neighbor? Then what about the overweight issue? These families are unhealthy and obese, because they can't buy food? Families of 4 getting over 600.00 dollars in food stamps, and they are still "running out of food." This makes me angry on so many levels... but mostly angry because how many of you know your neighbors? How many of you know which of your co-workers, and even acquaintances are struggling with debt and cannot make ends meet? How often do we go about our day ignoring the people in the grocery store counting pennies to buy milk and diapers. What about those stressed out Mommies in line at the store? Could they be worried about how long this Twenty Dollars of food is going to last? Could a well timed smile, or a sweet word be all they need? How often do these "hungry" people hear words that will wash like cool water over their souls?

I think that the root of being "Food Insecure" goes much deeper than groceries, or money, or weight. It is more than just someone being too lazy (or tired... believe me, I know what its like to rather buy fast food than even bother to make peanut butter and jelly.) The root is that this world is hungry for something much deeper and more satisfying than a corn dog. These people need Jesus.

In our hungry days we didn't often worry about where our next meal would come from, because we knew that the One who numbered our days was carrying us. Each day came and went, and we were never lacking in the very things we needed to survive. If I know that truth, and Sovereign provided for even me, why would I keep that secret from someone else who needs to hear it? The world is walking in darkness, and the evidence is clear... people are filling the voids in their lives with cars, boats, huge houses, food in excess of what they need... and the bottom line is that the only thing anyone needs is Jesus.

Here is what I propose. What if we listened more carefully to what He is saying to us? How many times have I seen a mommy in need of hearing me say "You are doing a good job." How many times have I ignored Christ telling me to buy somebody's groceries? Why am I not asking the people I meet what their story is? What do they "need?" Because if I care enough to listen to what they think they need, then they will be more ready to hear what I know they need! You know those people with no cars? Why don't I offer to drive them to store, and go shop with them. And maybe then I can teach them to stretch their dollars, and probably even forge a bond... a friendship, with somebody else in this world, just trying to make it through their day... a lot like I am doing. When we tie ourselves to another human being, doing the same things they are trying to do, it makes all the work and pain in this world a little less painful.

Psalm 107: 8-9: Let them give thanks to the Lord for his UNFAILING love and his WONDERFUL deeds for men, for he SATISFIES the thirsty and fills the hungry with GOOD THINGS!

Psalm 146 (Read it! Its amazazazing!)

Matthew 5:6: Blessed are those who HUNGER and THIRST for RIGHTEOUSNESS for they will be filled! (This applies to us, Christians. What will we do about it?)

Matthew 15:32... I was just teaching the girls about this. Jesus didn't want to send the people away hungry! He filled their physical hunger, as well as their spiritual hunger.

Matthew 25:35... again, physical needs are important! And in some cases, they matter for eternity.

Philippians 4:12: I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

What is the secret? Can we all say we have learned? Lets make this a quest, to discover that we can, in fact, "Do everything through him who gives me strength." (Phil. 4:13)

Amongst many, many verses regarding hunger... both physical and spiritual, do you know how the story ends? Or at least, the one involving our journey here through the darkness?

Revelation 7:16-17: Never again will they hunger, never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the CENTER of the throne will be their shepherd, for he will lead them to springs of LIVING WATER. And God will wipe away every tear from their eye.