When I was growing up, my parents were quite the fans of the buffet. Particularly, we’d go quite often to The Royal Fork (oh yes, that was really the name) (and was actually preceded by the name King’s Table, natch). Sunday dinners, extended family get-togethers, vacations would all end up somehow at The Royal Fork. My family would load up on everything from jello salad to turkey and stuffing to pasta. The thing that was always odd to me was that the selection was so wide and varied. I mean, I liked most of the types of food that were there, but not all at one time. I love me some pot roast and mashed potatoes, but not with an egg roll appetizer. When you lump it all together into one single-file line, it’s more than a tad overwhelming. And unappetizing.
Like, gag me with The Royal Spoon.
I feel like have quite a full plate right now (I’ve shifted into the figurative plate now, not literal, FYI). And I feel like my life is sort of like The Royal Fork. After such a fun summer, everything has sort of hit at once and my plate is overflowing. The gravy is running into the salad and my creamed corn is running off the plate. And all I can think is “ew.” And, “can’t I put each thing on it’s own plate and eat it on its own slowly throughout the week?”
But that’s not how things work at a buffet.
At a buffet, you get it all at once. For one low price, you pile it up and wolf it down, and the only break is that if you want seconds you get to pick a fresh, clean plate.
I’m not really sure why our lives (meaning my and Greg’s [is that grammatically correct?]) have gone from seven-course to smorgasbord. It seems that God has placed us in His own personal Royal Fork. Like every week we load up on everything He wants to serve us...and then it takes a week to digest it all. I’m not sure if that’s what He meant by “having life more abundant” or not. Sometimes I just want to push the plate back, say “thanks but no thanks, I’m really not all that hungry today.” But how can you say no at the King’s Table?
I’m trying to be flexible, and to train my “spiritual stomach” to handle all the offerings, but I have to admit it’s been a smidge difficult. I don’t want as much as is on my plate. And I’m trying really, really hard to focus on the Truth instead of how I feel (full) - and understand that sometimes God is simply saying:
“And at this very moment, God deeply desires to lead you from
trouble and to spread your table with your favorite food.”
(Job 36:16)
So I accept the clean plate, again and again, week after week, and belly up to the line for my second helping at The King’s Table.
“Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see --Blessed are you who run to him.”
(Psalm 34:8)
2 comments:
Ahh, The Royal Fork. Loading up the ice cream bowl so high and with a generous amount of syrup that it would drip all over my hands trying to carry it back to the table. Yes, those were the good times!
There are few out there that can paint such beautiful pictures with words. There is nothing I adore more in writing than someone who can properly create outstanding metaphors/similes. More than that I love how you start with someone, elaborate and than wrap it up with the same concept.
Moving on.
All I could think this weekend when I thought about your situation was, Lord, one day Greg and Monica are going to look back and tell this awesome testimony of "remember when we moved, then moved again, then moved again...".
God is preparing something in his kitchen for you---
Love you.
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