30 Days of Tasting

Day 7

“What sounds good for dinner?” All day long, I have been asking myself that question. We are having our house church over tonight and I am making the main course. I knew I wanted to make soup of some kind, but my mind has been undulating over what kind of soup.

When I asked myself, “What sounds good?” I wasn’t really looking for an answer of an auditory nature. I was asking what sounds like it will taste good. I was calling on my memory of food and my preferences for food and asking them to speak to me.

It’s an art to listen to your appetite and be able to answer definitively the question of what sounds good. (I’ve decided on tomato basil soup, in case you are wondering.) Reflecting on Day 7 of tasting, what stands out most is the way that my mind and palate worked together to decide what I would prepare.

Here’s the connection with our spirituality: The Christian life is a nurturing faith. Jesus used bread and wine to speak of the way he would nourish us every time we come together in his name. He is the bread of life. He is the living water that becomes within us a fresh infilling of joy and zest for life. Far too often, however, we get in a rut when it comes to nourishing our own spirits.

What if we approached spiritual nurture by asking, “What sounds good?” What if we trusted our own hearts to tell us what nutrients we need to heal and become more whole? Instead of going through the motions of our daily spiritual routines, asking the question, “what sounds good” has the potential to break us out of deadening patterns and lead us toward a real companionship with Christ.

We might hear, “take a walk,” or “take a nap.” We might realize that cleaning out the garage or shooting hoops is the very thing that will bring us closer to Jesus. In recent years, I have learned to trust my heart, that deep place where I abide in Christ, to lead me and show me what I really need.

Tomorrow, as you think about how to pursue a relationship with Christ, why not ask yourself, “what sounds good?” and let your spiritual palate speak to you about what you really need and desire.