Saturday, October 9, 2010

Nourishment... what feeds your soul?

Do you remember how to finish this jingle?  "HERSHEY'S is...."  [...the great American chocolate bar.]

A few weeks ago my husband and I took off for a hike along one of the portions of the Soddy Daisy Cumberland Trail segments.  I stashed away a HERSHEY'S bar and some fruit-roll ups in case we got hungry.  I filled a water bottle with some refreshing water to quench our thirst. 

Along the trail, after having walked a ways, we found a great sitting spot and partook of our snack.  The break gave us some rest, hydration, and some energy through the chocolate.  If we had planned to be out longer, I would have taken more snacks and/or other snacks, but for this short hike, what we had was enough.

Now, typically, chocolate isn't considered "nourishment".  However, when one is expending energy and calories it is a good thing.  (I realize that some folks are going to want to "agree to disagree" here and relay information about the benefits of dark chocolate, etc.  Hey, I'm with you!!)

Nourishment varies throughout our lives.  When we are in our mother's wombs, we feed on whatever is in the system.  (I'm not a doctor, so don't get onto me; I'm keeping it simple.)  When we are born, we start off on milk or formula.  When we get a little older we graduate to mushy foods such as vegetables and cereals.  Eventually we are able to eat table food in small bites.  Then, one day, we can eat "real" food.  There are many, many options available for us on what we may eat.  What do I eat?  Among the things I personally enjoy are: sushi, spinach, seafood, almond milk, hummus, feta cheese, Costa Rican coffee, good wine, and a good lean steak every now and then.

Health restrictions and beliefs may modify what we eat, but none of us are sucking on bottles full of baby formula as adults.  Are we?  That doesn't mean that we might not enjoy a cold glass of milk with some fresh baked cookies every now and then.  Milk still has its purpose, it just isn't our sole sustenance.

Our spiritual nourishment is similar to our physical nourishment.  We don't start off "chewing on meat."  We wouldn't be able to.   We start off with spiritual milk.  We see in the Bible where Paul tells the Corinthians that he had to give them milk for starters, that they weren't ready for more: 1 Corinthians 3:2 (NIV)--"I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready."

This next passage is hard truth.  It seems that some folks had heard the teachings for a while, but were still hanging on to their milk consumption.   They hadn't yet moved on to solid food, but seemingly should have been able to.

Hebrews 5:11-14 (NIV)
"We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.   In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!   Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.   But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."

Have you been drinking milk too long?  If so, try some solid food.  Or at least start with some of the mushy in-between stuff.  How do you know if you've been drinking milk too long?  How does a baby know?   Have you noticed that with some babies you don't have to change them over to the mush?  They start to get agitated and fussy and nothing seems to satisfy them.  So, after you've tried everything, you try some cereal and/or some mush vegetables.  They become quiet and calm.  They are being satisfied.  Their nourishment need had changed and the only sign was restlessness, agitation, and fussiness.   That might be a good barometer of change in the spiritual realm as well-- are you becoming restless, agitated, fussy (without other explanation)?  If so, try some more in-depth nourishment.

What is nourishment that feeds the soul?

I'd venture to say that as with food, there is variety on many levels.  For example, I can enjoy the following and have my soul fed:  a good book, a good hike, a good conversation, being outdoors, good music, etc.

I can also spend time in the spiritual practices of silence, solitude, reading, sabbath (rest), prayer, fasting, self-examination, hospitality, and worship (among others) and my soul will be fed.

I have found it helpful to incorporate practices such as lectio divina, prayer beads, walking a labryinth,  and breath prayers, to name a few, into my rhythm of living so that my soul becomes better nourished.

A few days ago, Mark Davis gave a homework assignment in his daily report.   It was from the report on Wed. October 6th, Tuesday night's show.  The word was "provision".  The homework assignment struck me as being beneficial to everyone, no matter where they are on their journey, so I'm including it here.  "Provision"  has to do with "nourishment". 

Mark's assignment:

"ASSIGNMENT: You are somewhere on the journey and you can describe it if you try.

Pick one of these or make up your own …

(1) I am in a time of refreshing! (Green pastures and still waters)
(2) I have just left a time of refreshing, and have a distance to travel, but I feel pretty good.
(3) I am way past the last refreshing, and there are no green pastures or still waters in sight.
(4) Please help me God, because if I don’t have some relief soon, I am going to die of hunger or thirst!
(5) I give up. I can’t go on. … If you chose this one, email me or someone you trust immediately!!!
(6) Wow, there’s some green pasture ahead. I can sense it. I can see it. Thank you, Jesus! Give me that extra boost of strength to get me there."
~Mark Davis, The Healing Touch Report, October 6, 2010

We are all somewhere on the journey, whether we realize it or not, whether we admit it or not.  Where are you?  Are you becoming restless?  Is it time to incorporate some additional food sources into your spiritual diet?

I'll close with a quote from Marjorie Thompson's SoulFeast: "The spiritual life invites a process of transformation in the life of a believer.  It is a process of growing in gratitude, trust, obedience, humility, compassion, service, and joy.  As we deepen our relationship with God, we begin to choose God's ways and purposes as our own." (8)

May the nourishment in which you partake along your journey transform you!

~Debra

P.S.  I was reading Diana Butler Bass' Strength for the Journey: A Pilgrimage of Faith in Community on 10/10/10 and read this passage that fit perfectly with nourishment, so I had to come back and add it!  Diana Butler Bass is quoting Rev. Virginia Brown's sermon at Grace-St. Luke's in Memphis, TN.  This was in 1997.

"The Bread of Heaven is real food, strength for the journey, food that sustains and nourishes the hidden Christ-life within us.  It is comfort in sadness, celebration in joy, healing in sickness, reconciliation in brokenness.  It is welcome for the lonely, belonging for the isolated, consolation in all our afflictions.  It is hope beyond the boundaries of this world, the pledge of eternal life.  It is the very substance of love....Tenderly and dependably as a mother feeding her baby with her own milk, Christ feeds us with his own life, his own Body and Blood." (226)

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