SPLAT

 

This morning, I sat down to eat breakfast and read the Wall Street Journal. This has become a rather indulgent habit at the encouragement of both my mother and my daughter, Darcy. But that’s another story; I digress.

What was I eating? You might ask. I was eating wonderful cantaloupe. It was cold and juicy. It was full of taste. It was good. It was fruit; this means it was guilt-free. I would stab a piece with my fork, eat it, and joyfully read about multi-million dollar houses for sale all over the world. Boy, was that cantaloupe good. Om nom, as some would say.

Coming to the end of my bowl of cantaloupe, I stabbed the last juicy piece. I continue reading details of earthly riches as I moved it toward my mouth. Then I bit into nothing but the fork. In a split second, my eyes grew wide and I looked downward as I heard the decided sound of splat. Splat? There was my very last oh-so-cold-and-juicy piece of wonderful cantaloupe on the kitchen floor. This registered sorrowfully to my senses.

Immediately, my brain kicked into high gear and brought forth the by now well-known Five Second Rule. But even for me, who is not known to be a neat person, even for this soul, this sad sight was too much for the Five Second Rule. All that juice. All those germs.  Alas, that last piece had to be sopped up with a paper towel and woefully discarded into the trash.

Sadness. My poor mouth was left with nothing but the hard clang of the fork against my teeth and hungering for more cantaloupe. But just then, God started chuckling. And just then, I saw the connection He was making.

God’s Word was the cantaloupe. I took my eye off God, looking at the world instead, and I was left with cold, hard metal and an inconsolable longing for more.  Funny, that had been my quiet time the other day. Whatever is going on in this world, stay focused on Me. Take in My Word as your nourishment. Look toward Me, and I will feed you. How many times does Jesus say that in the Bible? Lots.

Fortunately for us, the Five Second Rule does not apply to God’s Word. It may go splat sometimes when we read it….when we’re not really paying attention or taking it to heart. But it never collects germs. We can always go back, pick it up, and taste it again. So stop for a minute and think if you missed something this morning, if you missed something this day. Did you miss a God-moment? Did you miss His Word? Center Him in your vision. Ask Him to show you what you missed and let your senses continue to enjoy Him.

Psalm 34:8; Hebrews 12:2