A Continual Feast

Perhaps this is selfish but one of my hopes when I get to heaven is that there will be all kinds of perfectly prepared delicacies to eat...and that to partake will result in no weight gain. Since we will have new bodies, perfect bodies, I can't think that indulging will have a negative effect...? But who knows--perhaps we won't even require food (although Jesus ate fish when He returned to the disciples, maybe--hopefully!- just for pleasure and not necessarily for nourishment?) At any rate, on days like today (Thanksgiving), as I wrote last year in "I Just Want Stuffing", besides the joy of gathering with family and reflecting on blessings, feasting is a rare treat I will allow and have been looking forward to.

I've been reading through Proverbs the last few mornings...and, Providentially, I'm sure, today I read Proverbs 15:15 which states, "...a cheerful heart has a continual feast". HA! How true! King James uses "merry" which in the Hebrew is akin to "good/beautiful". I like to think that I'm not a "Debbie Downer", that I can find the good in almost any situation, glass half full, silver lining, etc. And so maybe I'm not quite at the feasting level with my heart--maybe just grazing or snacking continually--but what a goal to try to reach! To be able to have a continual feast by keeping a cheerful heart...A feast of blessing, of promises, of truths, of reflections of God's faithfulness...oh, YES! And I won't gain an ounce!

Today I will be traveling up to our Camden site for a few hours to hang out with the kids, help serve a noon-time meal, and try to reflect God's grace back to them. I doubt that any of these kids has much cheer in their hearts as they are weighed down heavily by their realities of life=poverty, unemployment, single motherhood, criminal records, drug addiction, etc. But my aim is to keep my heart cheerful, to share my feast with them, and plant some seeds of hope for a better life. As I sit here, it humbles me to know that after they leave the warmth and feastiveness of the site, they will return to their broken homes, to the street corners to sell themselves or their wares, to dysfunction families while I will speed Eastward on the Expressway towards the reality of a great meal, loving family, and all the comfort that brings. And I pray that although this saddens me for them, I can remain thankful and continue to feast on the blessings I have each and every day...Happy Thanksgiving!