digestion

I promise.  This is not going to be as gross as the title might indicate… My sweet baby girl turns 18 months old on Sunday.  Her eating patterns are developing.   Her appetite is growing.  These days she does manage to get a lot of what she eats into her mouth on her own.  Its all quite amusing to watch.

And believe me when I tell you that she gives me plenty of opportunity to see exactly what she is doing.  In recent days it has come to pass that Mackenzie likes to take her time eating.  I can’t pinpoint the exact day that it started, but I now have to budget a significant amount of time for eating.  She is not in a hurry.

This morning, for instance,  she was halfway through one small pancake, a few bites of cheese and a quarter of a half of banana – at the forty-five minute marker!  She eats a bite, she chatters, she licks her spoon, she takes a drink… she chatters some more, she moves things around on her tray and then she might take another bite.  Ahhh the luxury of a toddler.

Michael and I discussed this morning how Mackenzie seems to take after Grandpa Brock.  He was a man who took his time at the table.  I remember one family dinner on Easter Sunday, shortly after Michael and I were married, Grandpa Brock had taken maybe two bites of his meal while the rest of us had commenced clearing the table – completely finished with our dessert and everything.  I think he really enjoyed the time around the table with everyone.

They say that eating slowly is a very healthy habit.

As a mother of three, I am really good at eating fast – I can wolf my food down with the best of them.  Its really self-preservation.  You never know when you might have to clean up a spill, change a diaper or possibly even give what’s on your plate to someone else.  But – its not good for me.  I remember my mom telling me when I was little and requesting seconds, “You ate too fast!  Your stomach hasn’t had time to feel full yet…”

No, scarfing down nourishment is never a good plan.

Spiritually its not wise either.  Although – I do find myself choosing that quick “one verse snack”, rather than giving myself the luxury of digesting God’s Word over the course of some time.  I do know this: When I allow His Word and presence to slowly soak in, to saturate, and completely fill my heart, I don’t have to go searching for other “junk food” to fill me.

My sweet Mackenzie has reminded me:  There is nothing more important to my spiritual health and well being than time in His presence, reading His word – and being filled to the overflowing with nourishment that comes from Him.  It is the only way to truly live.

Psalm 1:1-3 says, this

“Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
² but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

May this Word dwell richly in my heart and mind, fully digested, so that I am able to live a prosperous and fruitful life for His kingdom.  amen.