Friends' Favorite - Comfort Food

And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

Luke 6:35 NKJV

My family and friends in the Midwest are in the middle of a brutal winter, as is my family up on the East coast. Here in southeast Texas, we have been enjoying much warmer weather - the 60s and 70s... until this week. The forecast included a blue norther' that blew in by lunchtime, with the long-range forecast predicting a chance of snow north of us near the panhandle. For those of you buried up to your nose in snow at this moment, I'm sure a chance doesn't mean very much to you ... but here? If it snows at 20% like it rains at a 20% chance, we are gonna be in deep drifts. On top of that, it means I'll actually have to go grocery shopping. I absolutely, passionately hate snow and I VERY intensely dislike grocery shopping.

Just thinking about being cold and having snow, I want chili and cornbread and potato soup with thick slices of bread and butter, and beef stew with biscuits and hot apple pie, and hamburger gravy with real mashed potatoes and corn, extra buttered popcorn and hot chocolate made with whole milk and with real whipped cream and peppermint and brownies hot out of the oven - the kind with walnuts... in other words, I want comfort food. And reading FB? So does everyone else who is bracing for snow and cold and ice.

I often wonder why it is we go immediately to food for comfort. Would I settle for a fake life jacket if I were drowning? Would I want a party balloon instead of oxygen if I needed help to breathe? I realize winter is NOT life or death for most people - in most situations, but reaching for substitutes to fill God's place in our lives IS life or death. If we're cold, let's be baptized with the fire of the Holy Spirit. If we're thirsty, let's drink from the Fount of Living Water and we'll never thirst again. Instead of jelly beans, let's have Jesus. Instead of crackers, let's do Christ. Instead of hot Cheetos... I'm just saying if we need comfort food, why not reach for the Bread of Life? There is no greater comfort.

Prayer:

Father,

           Forgive us when we reach for any substitution to comfort us, instead of You. Lord, You are our one true Comfort. It is only through You we find what we truly need to live and move and have our being. Help us to recognize this Truth and live our lives accordingly. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen