Taste and See

Cleverly painted in a handsome font inside our church cafe, Psalms 34:8 became mere marketing decor in my eyes and within my heart. But on one Sunday morning as I entered church and was attempting to push aside the familiar thoughts of weight loss strategies, my eyes met His through those stenciled letters.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!..

Taste? See- I get. But taste? How?

With head knowledge I understand what David had endured as he penned this alphabetical psalm but as God does- He spoke to my heart, as He personalized this verse to bring forth truth. You see 9 years ago,after I had my second daughter, I became oddly interested in running. But it wasn't until 2007 when I gave birth to my "Golden Boy" (hehe), that I also bore a new passion for this sport. I teetered on the borderline of athletic and obsessive. Gauging my speed, outdoing the previous days mileage, reading and rereading running forums and online threads consumed every neuron I had! The icing on the cake was knowing that on the month's springboard, when I'd completely lost it, I would weigh myself and witness drastic shedding.

This was never the case. I loathed the 1st of the month. With all my neurotic energy, how could this be?! Yesterday I did 6 miles in record speed and the day before that I sprinted for 3 whole miles!

Those were just a few thoughts that occupied space. It was then, when God opened my eyes to Psalms 34:8, I received understanding and support in my struggle. God knows that we humans gravitate to tangible. His choice of words, employing "taste", is an insight to yet another means He has proven Himself good. In the natural, we have the ability to taste and He has given us a harvest to enjoy. The sweetness of fresh strawberries, white peaches, and bananas, the juiciness of mangoes, oranges, and kiwi...the list goes on and on. All these fruits and veggies that grow out of the dust of the ground, just like us, are visual and tangible examples of how powerful, sweet, and good He is. Like Daniel, we can choose to reject the artificial byproducts our markets are saturated with and stand on what is good.

I wasn't loosing any weight because of my input not because of my output. I neglected to see that God is interested in every area of my life. I know I've heard that He is, but I didn't think weight loss was truly on that list. Training with Him now, means I run within healthy boundaries. If I miss a day of exercise, it's okay. If my flesh craves something sweet, I turn to what I know is good for both my spirit and body and reach for His creation.