Taste and See…
This week we are doing something a little different. Roughly once a quarter I’d like to host a guest writer. It’s all a part of what I’d like The Cookie Exchange to become: an exchange of ideas and experiences. I’d like to introduce you to my very talented friend, Babs Mullinax. This is a post from her site meandgrace.com. Try a taste… I think you’ll like it!
Taste and See That the Lord is Good!
I love that the Lord teaches us through metaphors. He uses our life experience to give us insight into his character and his ways. I will be reading through the Bible, and a verse will jump out at me because it is so relevant to my circumstances. Other times, I’ll see a verse that is interesting to me because I can’t immediately understand it, but I hear God encouraging me, “Just think about it a little…”
Our theme for the day is one of those verses that I really had to stop and think about. “Taste and see that the Lord is good” from Psalm 34:8. If you like to decorate your house with Scripture, this is a great one for the kitchen or dining room! But what does it mean?
First of all, God is not inviting us to eat him! Ha ha ha… Think about the verb he uses: taste. To try… More than that… To try, savor, and consider whether or not you like it (and it usually takes a few more bites to see if you do like the taste).
Let me take an example from my own life experience. I have most recently lived overseas for almost a decade – Israel, to be specific. While living in Israel I got the opportunity to travel to other countries. I think I stopped counting at thirteen. Keep in mind, traveling to another country from Israel is like traveling to Kentucky or New York from here! The furthest I went was Thailand, and that was like traveling to the state of Washington.
One of my favorite things to do when in a new country is to visit the local McDonald’s. Every country has their own local flavor included on the McDonald’s menu, so I feel like it is a safe way to try something local and see if I am ready for a real local restaurant. Something about the idea of McDonald’s makes it feel closer to familiar and safe. My other favorite thing to do in different countries is to visit the grocery store. Do you know that Pringles sells the flavor, prawn? Um… Yes… Honestly, it tastes like the flavor they sold in Israel, ketchup.
The game changer for me was the first time I went to Thailand. The friend I was traveling with came up with the idea to take a cooking class while we were there. What an amazing experience to have a local insider take you through the farmer’s market and teach you how to cook their unique cuisine! I had a lot of fun cooking, but when it came time to taste our fare, I wasn’t so sure. I’m not a big fan of spicy food or wiggly food – or (in Thailand) crunchy food, because that meant it was probably a bug of some sort! Our cooking instructor, who taught in her own home, encouraged us (more like, bossed us) and said, “Taste! It goooood! You see!”
I am 100% positive she didn’t know she was quoting God!
This is what I realized that day. I was wary of trying this new food that was just waiting before me because I was worried about what it might be like. Fear of the unknown? Fear of the “I tried something like that before and it wounded me”? But what if the food before me was as tasty (or tastier) than the food I’ve enjoyed up to today?
Life is complicated. Life experience has made us wary of trusting others, let alone someone like God whom we can’t fully understand or comprehend. It could be fear of the unknown, or it could be because we have a bad taste in our mouth from someone else or a traumatic life experience that leaves us feeling utterly abandoned.
Let me paint another scenario. You’ve had the experience of trying to watch your favorite TV show, but your toddler is saying, “Mommy, look at this. Look at me. Mommy! Moooooommy! MOMMY!” Or going to the movie that you were really excited about and there is someone in front of you being super distracting and annoying. That’s how life (and people, even the church) can be when you are wanting to see where God fits into the picture. We’re only human and trying to grasp the meaning of it all ourselves; yet, because people are only human, they can mess it up and leave a bad taste in your mouth. But there are also the people who have raved about a show or a movie, and offered to sit next to you and enjoy how much you enjoy it. They actually guided you to your favorite show ever! Or your favorite restaurant ever, or to a cooking class in Thailand (to get back to the food metaphor)!
My point is this, God is in front of us – in the midst of this complicated and traumatic world. He offers us comfort and wisdom and companionship and perspective and healing and truth. Again, ladies, life is complicated. Life experience has made us wary of trusting others, let alone someone like God whom we can’t fully understand or comprehend. It could be fear of the unknown, or it could be because we have a bad taste in our mouth from someone else or a traumatic life experience that leaves us feeling utterly abandoned.
Still…
God is inviting us, “Taste! It gooooood! You see!”
I am encouraging you… Reach out to someone you feel you can trust, and ask them to walk beside you as you take God up on his invitation!
Originally posted March 18, 2019 in categories Creativity, Encouragement, Faith
Thanks, Babs for sharing your experiences with us! Please leave Babs a note in the comment area. She’d love hearing from you.
Scriptures to ponder this week:
Psalm 34 (*v8)
Psalm 119:97-104 (*v103)
Psalm 119:137-114 (*v140)
Job 12:7-11
1 Peter 2:1-3
Babs what enjoyment i received from your blog. I had to laugh about McDonald’s for goodness sake. But I’m not one to eat unusual foods. Like my grandchildren who eat with there eyes as do I as well. I found it inspirational as Psalm 34 is one of my favorite scriptures during a time in my life when I did feel abandoned by God. My husband had passed away at home unexpectedly at 44 yrs. I went through a rough spot but I read this scripture know eventually that God was with me cause believe me I was crushed in spirit. I feel God is turning us towards faith which is something we don’t see or hear but believe as we taste his mercy & righteousness. This came to mind while I was reading your blog that I found interesting. I am teaching my granddaughter about faith which is very important to me. I had purchased a mustard seed necklace for her. I to!d her Jesus mentions the mustard seed faith several times in Matthew, but anyway it came to my mind that this is a food as you can use it several ways but it is also the strongest tree. She just loves it & will say all i need is mustard seed faith right Nana when she’s having some rough patches. Again I want to thank you for your blog and it encourages me to be more diligent in my reading of scriptures.
Babs & Heather, Thank you both for the inspiration, guidance and encouragement you bring to so many! It’s been delightful to “taste” the goodness of God in each of your posts! Goodness that I can apply to my life daily! “Sing”cerely, Jo
Babs, I just love that you’ve tried out various McDonalds’ around the world. It cracks me up! What are some of the different menu options you’ve tried or declined on trying? I’m so curious. It’s such a great picture of trying something somewhat new, but still on the edge of our comfort zone. It’s like testing the water with our toes to determine if we should jump in the pool.
Kebabs in Israel (and potato buns during the Passover season), rice bowls in Thailand, and gourmet hamburgers in Germany, and something meat-based with a strange sauce in Hungary!