Soul Food

On Wednesday of last week “Survivor” started up again and it’s one of the most successful reality shows on television because the conditions are so extremely harsh. People not only have to battle with each other physically and emotionally, they also have to subsist on minimal food, which messes with their minds. Being hungry not only makes them weak, it causes them to lose their mental focus. It’s a fun show to watch and actually, I have often thought about trying out to see if I could succeed under such difficult conditions.

On Friday of last week I was scheduled for a medical procedure that requires fasting beforehand. In fact you can’t even drink water for 4 hours prior to the procedure. Then after the procedure was over my throat was so sore I could barely swallow. So for about a 48 hour period I felt what it was like to be extremely hungry and it definitely messed with my mental focus. Friday evening for example, as we prepared to go to bed, my wife asked me to turn off the lights and check the front door to make sure it was locked. I told her I took care of everything. She then went out into the living room, turned out the lights and locked the front door. When she came back to the bedroom she just stared at me and said, “Really?” I guess I messed up…I also guess I wouldn’t be a very good candidate for “Survivor” after all.

Obviously being hungry is no fun. Let’s face it, there’s no way you can enjoy life and be your best when your body aches for food. But what about when your soul aches for sustenance? Being hungry made me realize that faith is a lot like food for the soul. If we have faith in God, or at least believe in a higher power of some sort, we can relax knowing that we are loved and that there is a purpose to our life. Faith fills the stomach of our soul, which then gives us the strength to focus on any challenge that comes our way. But if we don’t have faith, it’s like drifting aimlessly while slowly starving, our minds unable to find focus in any direction.

Looking back on my life it’s easy to recall the times when I was spiritually starved. Those were the low points in my life, when I made bad decisions and felt lost and alone. Things are different for me now and I recognize how my faith sustains me on a daily basis. I wish I could bake a “faith cake” and serve it to everyone I meet so they could feel as nourished as I feel inside… but I don’t know how to bake and I doubt that faith is an ingredient I can buy at the store. I can however, speak and write and sing and worship and let my faith explode like a bubbly bottle of champagne, spraying all over my family and friends until they are so soaked in spirituality that they can’t help but absorb it!

 

Cast of Survivor "Worlds Apart" 2015

Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death.
~Anonymous