What's in YOUR Breakfast?

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Psalm 119: 103

Man! My doctor would be so proud of me if she saw this breakfast. And the fact that I am preparing it just after getting off the treadmill makes me feel all the smugger. (Is smugger a word?)

Two pieces of whole grain toast, lightly buttered with that "lower your cholesterol" spread stuff, one hard-boiled egg (we won't tell her about the pinch of salt), a small glass of orange juice loaded with calcium and for dessert: yogurt with freshly chopped nuts. Perfect!

As I finish my egg and toast, I pull the best part of my morning meal across the table toward my spoon, anticipating every delectable bite. Raspberry flavored it is, or maybe strawberry….definitely pink, nonetheless. I carefully include the most significant piece of pecan I can find onto my spoon for the first bite.

What happened next made me groan so loudly my dogs looked up from their morning nap. WHOA! What the heck was that taste? Some "flavor" swirled around on my tongue, sending my brain into "unrecognized" rejection mode. I looked into my cup….it looked OK. I smelled it, and it seemed OK. So I did what every mother who hates wasting food does….I tried it again! OH MY GOSH! OK. That was it…I was done.

I took my dishes to the counter and made my way straight to the trash to find the yogurt container and check the expiration date. It can't be that old, I thought to myself; I just bought these for my grandkids when they came to visit last week. No sooner than I picked up the container, I understood the problem: bubblegum!

Is it pink bubblegum flavored? Do they make yogurt that tastes like pink bubblegum? Well, of course, they do, Grandma…..so the kids will eat it. AAaarrrgghhh! 

I laughed as I was washing my dishes and thought about how I loved bubblegum when I was a kid. Loved it. *Double Bubble rocked! Didn't care much about blowing the bubbles, but man, I loved the flavor. Which led to another thought……….I loved it as a kid, and as a kid, I would like it in yogurt, but not today, not so much.

In 1st Corinthians, chapter 13: 1-12, the Apostle Paul wrote; When I was a child I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. (NIV). In my spiritual walk, I have noticed over the past few years that "things" I used to enjoy or even tolerate in my life are not so much palatable to me now. Certain movies, some music, hangover-causing alcohol consumption, cuss words, and on and on and on. I don't really ever consider other people's use of, or enjoyment of, any of these things. Still, I have noticed for me that they don't seem to "taste good" anymore. Huh.

Sorta like pink bubblegum flavored yogurt? Maybe so. Maybe, as we grow and stretch and trust and get closer and closer to the One who made us, those longings are replaced by something else. Something better for us. Happy movies replace tear-jerking love stories, songs about His grace replace songs of my past regrets, and the feeling I get during my quiet times replaces the feelings I used to get from alcohol. Holding my tongue and asking Him to intervene instead of handling the crises with "my" opinion is more my norm these days. 

Yeah, it's good for my grandkids to have bubble gum-flavored yogurt; for now, it tastes good to them, and they are still getting something wholesome. But for me, I am determined to stick not only with fat-free, low-sugar yogurt but also with a maturing, more understanding Christian walk. Both just taste better these days.

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