Welcome to my Quirky Pantry!
Good, bright and sunny May morning! Time to rise and shine! Give God the glory and eat some fruit (and veggies)!
We are putting the laundry away now. Giving clothes-sorting a rest. Now we are moving on to the pantry and the table. And who doesn’t like hanging out in the kitchen? So welcome to the next series at the Quirky Kingdom: The Quirky Pantry.
There was a season in my life where I was rock-bottom. Desperate for wholeness and spiritual healing. I was so thirsty and hungry for righteousness and for health. My spiritual un-well-being had seeped into my bones and effected my physical well-being for years. During this time, the Lord whispered ways to be healed like how I should apologize to so-and-so, take magnesium, rest in Him, and dance more.
One of those whispers was, “Eat more fruit.”
What?!? I mean, I didn’t eat much fruit. But I thought that was weird. I tried. Grabbed a banana. Cut a pear. But I kept hearing the whisper. A few curious months later, I finally made a connection.
“Eat more fruit!” Eureka! I get it! Like how I drink in the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13) He shouts, “Come, everyone who thirsts!…Come and eat! …Listen diligently to me and eat what is good!” (Isaiah 55:1-9) The Lord sets up a banqueting table, a wedding feast for His redeemed.
“The fruits of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” -Galatians 5:22
We are supposed to get at least 2-4 servings a day of fruit and at least 3-5 servings a day of veggies. You getting enough? … Me neither.
I recently drew out a food pyramid for my daughter to help her see that she needs to eat those green beans. It helped us. Food pyramids vary drastically according to opinion (the Paleo, Vegan, tradition 4-square, the basic FDA, Atkins, and the Mediterranean). Just google-image it. It’s fun to compare. But one thing remains consistent. No matter which you subscribe to, they ALL emphasize the importance of fruits and vegetables. So, the cheese-ball in me found a simple article: “Why are fruits and vegetables important?”
“Fruits and vegetables are packed with essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, and disease-fighting phytochemicals” (FamilyEducation). Including fighting off heart-disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Well, guess what are some of the leading causes of death are in the States? You got it: heart-disease, cancer, and diabetes (Center for Disease Control and Prevention).
Hmmm. So, in three-year old terms… fruits and veggies are life-giving and death-fighting. You know. Like my daughter’s heroes: Daddy and Jesus.
So eat up! Ask Daddy for some fruit. Our Father freely gives good things to His kids. Here’s a serving of banana and a measure of faithfulness. They are gifts He delights to provide, and He knows that we need them. Just like you need to up your intake of kale, pineapples and the like, you need to up your intake of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
(Just a little soap-box here, but I double-dog-dare you to ask for patience. I don’t know why contemporary culture acts like that’s the forbidden prayer. As if asking for the good thing of patience is a curse that will bring frustration into your life. If you actually believe that or say that, get real. God is not like that and His fruits don’t rot either. He is on your side. He is for your good.)
Don’t be fooled into thinking you do this life “in Christ” on your own. You do this life in Christ. You do this life in the Spirit, by the power of the Spirit. We are designed to depend on Him. You nourish your body daily by drinking in the Holy Spirit, eating your daily Bread and Wine, enjoying the Fruits of the Spirit, chewing on the Meat of the Word.
The cool thing about God is that He made the things we need taste so darn good. Joy! Peace! Sometimes our taste buds have to change to enjoy the sweetness of self-control and patience, but we’ll talk more on that later.
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For today, declare (out loud) that God is for my good! Did you say it out loud yet? Say it. Then, just reread the list of the fruits of the Spirit. And in a quiet moment, ask Him to pick out the fruit He’d like you to enjoy today. Then receive it, eat it, enjoy it!!!
And if you do, would you comment about it? It would bring me joy to eat up the fruit salad that will come out of this if we believe it and act on it. : )
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Peace from my Quirky Pantry to yours,
Matilda Jane