Have you ever known someone who hated to have the food on their plate touching? Well I admit it, I am that guy. For years I was mortified to see the gravy from my potatoes encroaching on the precious space reserved for my green beans. Oh, and God forbid one singular drop of syrup make its way off of my pancakes or waffles with the brazen audacity to touch my sausage patty or bacon!
For years I was the guy who went back through the line at the the church pot luck time and time again. I know everyone was sitting there asking how in the world one guy could eat so much. But I wasn’t! I just couldn’t put much on my plate at once because it was imperative that each item had a safety barrier to prevent contamination. I have even been given plates with dividers on them as presents!
The idea of my culinary worlds colliding was unbearable.
That is until this last October. That was the month my world’s collided! Carolyn Adcock did this to me. She is to blame for this post and I am not shy about saying it. Here is the proof. Carolyn went to college with my mother. She served as a missionary after that and now lives close to Mom in sunny Florida. Last October we all went to Sunday lunch after church at Carolyn’s. Being a true southern belle from Mississippi this means much more than just any old dinner invitation. Sunday lunch in the south is a family ritual and demonstration of love and acceptance. We cherish Carolyn and had an amazing time.
We walked in and she had the china set with the good cutlery and all the bells and whistles. It was a gorgeous place setting. After we were seated and prayed for the meal and that is when it happened.
That is when things got weird
She began by telling us of a time she was having dinner with an family from India and explained today’s meal was curry. OK, I thought, “I can try this.” Then she told us HOW to eat it. First is the rice, then you put the curry over the rice. Rice is supposed to be covered in something, so I’m good, apprehensive, but good. Then she said, “Do you trust me?”
There is no safe way to answer that question. If it’s no, then I’ve offended, if it’s yes, then I have set myself up for heaven knows what. So I had to choose. I chose yes. “Good, then you have to put everything on the curry .” She said with a smile that made her Mississippi tea seem bitter. How can I betray a sweet request from one of my family’s oldest friends? “Ok” I said it without even knowing it. Next was cheese, a close call, but safe enough for me. I had hope. That was my bad. Then came diced onions. I don’t do raw onions. But wait, there is more! Next up, diced tomatoes. “Just imagine it’s pizza” That was my though as I prepared for the next ingredient. Now was crushed pineapple. Pizza? NO, pineapple does NOT belong on pizza. Now I had no way to trick my mind. This was happening and it was getting real very quickly. Oh, but we still aren’t done….. the final toppings… Bananas and coconut flakes!
Help!!!! I can’t do this! My worlds are colliding in a plate that I can not avoid!! It was a tailspin of epic proportions for this food separating guy.
Then I did the unthinkable. Like a missionary in a strange land, in order to not offend the tribal leader, I followed the last instruction. “Stir it all together.” The fear shot through my mind like an empty Wal-Mart bag in a hurricane. This, this is what Paul meant when he said “I die daily”….. The next step was one of faith and obedience. I took a bite.
So many of us live in separate worlds. Hiding each one from the others.
Like dividers on the plate most of us are one person at work. But it would be a horrifying explosion if that person ran into someone who knows us as the person we are at church. And the disaster gets only more horrific if either ran into the person we are at home with our families. The mushroom cloud only gets higher if anyone ran into who we are when we are alone. We keep our friends and lives hidden away from each other so no one sees that we don’t really know who we are ourselves.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge the Lord in ALL your ways and He shall direct your paths.”
To Acknowledge the Lord is much more than what is seems on the surface. It doesn’t just mean to recognize Him, or state that He is there. It means to recognize Him and accept Him in His proper place.
If I told you that eating cantaloupe can turn your hair grey you most likely won’t believe me. But what would happen if your doctor told you the same thing? You would most likely believe it. Why? Because you acknowledge the doctor in his proper place. A medical expert. Jesus is more than God, He is your personal God.
Twice it says the word all. Read that again. All of your heart and all of your ways. That means all of your worlds.
I was afraid of that weird curry mixture. I don’t mix my foods! But after I trusted the expert, my worlds didn’t just collide, they changed. I tasted something like I had never in my 51 years on Earth. It was amazing!! Carolyn changed my life for the better. I have shifted daily as I experience life in a whole new way. I even put syrup on my sausage patties now!
When we allow Jesus His rightful place in our worlds, the world that He created for us to experience comes bursting through. He shows us a world view we could never imagine. We shift a little closer to him every day. We taste His love, joy, freedom, and compassion like never before. I challenge you to allow Jesus to flavor your life at work, at home, at church, at play, and especially when you are alone with Him. He has so much more life for you to taste and experience. Stop pretending to be someone you aren’t and allow Him to shape you into who He made you to be. Then be honest with who that is. No matter where you are, be yourself and you can taste life as He sees it.
So bring on the curry, over pour the syrup, and acknowledge Jesus in all of your ways.