During our 4th week of Lent, eating only things that grow in the ground and drinking only water, I developed a strong craving. (And it wasn't for Diet Pepsi.) It was for cheese. I started to think about cheese on Wednesday. I wanted pizza with three cheeses. I wanted a string cheese stick. I wanted nachos with cheese. I wanted to unwrap a slice of processed cheese food and fold it over on itself until it made a little stack of cheese before I ate it. Forget the crackers--I wanted to spray canned cheese directly into my mouth. On Thursday I began planning what I would eat on Sunday. By Friday I was talking about cheese with people at the drive up window at Dodge City Federal. I spent Saturday preparing for Sunday, when I could eat dairy products. I had our small group over for lunch. I asked them to bring cheese. I'm not even that crazy about cheese normally.
And then I read Psalm 63.
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek You;
my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for You, ...
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise You.
On my bed I remember You;
I think of You through the watches of the night.
And it occurred to me that I never felt as strongly about God as I did that week about cheese.
I have hungered and thirsted after Diet Pepsi and cheeses, more than I ever have after my Heavenly Father and Jesus.
So the good thing is that now I know what hungering and thirsting feels like. I just need to figure out how this translates to earnestly seeking God and finding my satisfaction there. I'm thinking that it has something to do with love and relationship. As part of my quest, I am collecting 'in' verses. God 'in' me. Me 'in' God.
Jesus said: I am the vine and you are the branches. If a (wo)man remains in Me and I in him (her), (s)he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5
I'm thinking I may have a little wine with my cheese.
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