time for fine dining..

As many of you know, I'm in Colorado currently for some long overdue R&R. I know less than a handful of people out here, so I've had much time to be alone. For someone who is used to a busy life, overloaded with work and activities, it can be a bit disconcerting at times to be alone. However I have come to appreciate this time of peace and quietness, as an opportunity to reflect on life.

One morning as I was having breakfast with my hosts, we started discussing the importance of healthy food, excercise and lifestyle. Over the past few years, I've paid little attention to what I eat. With my busy schedule, when I got hungry I usually found the simplest and quickest dining solution. This may be a sandwich and an apple, or a hamburger with onion rings and a coke, or sometimes even skip a meal because of lack of time. In recent years I have rarely found the time to sit down for a good homecooked meal or go out for fine dining. Convenience, not planning has come to dictate my eating habits.

So, I started wondering how many of us living busy lives make decisions out of convenience rather than take time for deeper contemplation. Living in a convenience driven society, we enjoy instant information from the internet; fastfood from drive-thru's, not to mention drive-thru banks and post offices; remote contols for everything from garage doors to TVs, stereos, and even to lite our gas fireplaces! Everything is instant, we get what we want, when we want, where we want it. Everything is served to us, we needn't even get out of the comfort of our seat!

It's little wonder that when we have an empty feeling in our stomach, heart, or soul, we want it filled ASAP. We look for quick solutions to our needs, someone to solve our problems, someone to love us, entertain us, serve us, and to push the button that gives us that 'so gooood feelin' again. We quickly occupy our time with events, friends, church activities so we won't feel alone and hungry. And so our health suffers and relationships crumble because we are not willing to take time and dwell on what's truly good. We don't take time for fellowship, time to listen for wisdom and guidance, but instead expect God to provide all our needs "according to His riches" delivered to our comfort "cocoons".

But just maybe God wants us to have these times of loneliness, to feel hungry, to have moments to contemplate, consider and evaluate. Perhaps we should embrace loneliness as an opportunity to draw closer to God, to seek a closer fellowship with Him, and not only ask but also listen to His guidance. If we would stop in the midst of our busy lives to take these times of solitude, perhaps we will discover God has a much better table prepared for us than we could imagine. And as we dine with Him we may begin to undertand the difference between 'fastfood' and 'fine dining' in the most important areas of our lives...

28 Jan 2009