When I was a little kid, I was a very picky eater. There were foods I liked and foods I didn’t like and I made it very clear which foods I wanted on my plate…although the food I wanted on my plate and the food that actually ended up on it were sometimes two different things. It was also equally important that these foods never touched! Everything had to be compartmentalized. Heaven forbid if my mashed potatoes touched my corn or gravy got on my bread because if that should ever have happened, my food would be ruined. I wouldn’t eat it. I did not want my spaghetti tasting like green beans! Which, by the way, was one of the foods I despised, but was also one that was forced down my gullet by my mother because it was “good for me”.
Personally, I think she only said that because it was green. And to try and get me not to be so bothered by my food touching, my dad would tell me, “it doesn’t matter, it’s all going to the same place anyway” …meaning my stomach. That, of course, never worked. Anyway, my parents wisely offered no solution. No divided plates for me…I just had to deal. So, I created my own clearly defined lines on my plate – spaces between my food so nothing touched. Flavors, to me, were individual and not meant to mix. If they did, it just caused chaos.
Is there such a person in your household?
Thankfully I outgrew this penchant for fickleness and have discovered the culinary delights of the mixing of flavors. There is even a book on my shelf titled The Flavor Bible. There’s a chapter called “Learning to Recognize the Language of Food” and a chapter called, “Communicating Via the Language of Food,” but the bulk of the book is all about Flavor Matchmaking. A 380-page tome of harmonious flavor combinations! So, the next time you’re cooking up some corn on the cob, whether it’s in a pot on the stove or out on the grill…instead of spreading some butter on those hot kernels why don’t you try a little basil pesto.
You’re welcome.
Cafeteria ladies
Speaking of divided plates, the first time I actually used one was when I started junior high school and I ate lunch in the cafeteria and used a divided tray. Up until that time, I took my lunch to school. I had always seen them, but had never used one.
Loved it.
Because who wants your peach juice running into your french fries? Ew.
On the down side, the lunch ladies only gave me enough french fries to fill the little compartment on my tray. Took less than a minute to eat all 6 of them.
Divided plates for compartmentalized food. So it stays separated. Doesn’t mix. Doesn’t touch.
Compartmentalized life
How about your life? Have you compartmentalized that too? This is my work life over here. That is my personal life over here. This is my spiritual life over here. All separated. Doesn’t mix. Doesn’t touch. Life is so much easier that way…comfortable.
But God didn’t call us into comfort, He called us into combat.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33
Seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.
But we must seek, first. We must act, first. And when we seek first the kingdom of God, righteous living is not threatening to any aspect of our daily routines, business practices, or relationships.
But sometimes instead of trusting, we waste God’s blessings on things we don’t need instead of using them to advance His kingdom and end up compartmentalizing the kingdom into pieces we can digest.
But my friends, we are never more alive than when we are seeking first the kingdom of God; it brings peace, satisfaction and confidence to us and restoration to others.
Mixing things up
So don’t be afraid to mix it up. Don’t be afraid to let the Holy Spirit run into your work and start flavoring the things you do there. Don’t be afraid to let God’s Word permeate your personal life, your home, your hobbies and start flavoring the facets of your life in those places. Seek first the Kingdom, and let God add, mix and change the flavor of your life. He can work intuitively and effectively, brightening flavors, intensifying or deepening them to bring out a beautiful and extraordinary purpose that will be accomplished through you.
Let Him have the whole plate…no dividers. It’s all His Kingdom anyway.
