CRAVINGS

Have you ever woken up in the morning CRAVING something?  I spent the better part of the last two years CRAVING to wake up to the presence of my wife snuggled up next to me.  This may sound strange… but she had a certain distinct fragrance about her in the morning.  She didn’t like to be cold in bed, and except for the few warm nights we had in northern California, it wasn’t unusual for her to wear long sleeve, full length, flannel or cotton nightgowns.

So, I’m thinking that it was the organic combination of the fabric and her skin in close contact, under the covers throughout the night, that gave her a morning scent that tended to remind me of a warm bowl of oatmeal with a cube of butter, melting in the middle of a puddle of honey.  Sweet, warm, friendly and very cozy!

She also had a very sweet tooth when we first got together.  I can remember her laughingly requesting to have dessert first on many occasions during our initial few years of marriage, as we sat around the little Formica table in the kitchen of our first apartment.  During her pregnancy with our first child, she developed a CRAVING for Banana Splits.  We had a Baskin Robbins practically around the block from us (a long block albeit), so it was easy for us to take a walk a couple of times a week, up to Fourth Street and down to the Baskin Robbins where my brother had worked a few years previous to that time.

Somewhere through the years though, she mastered some real self-control and could easily make a candy bar or even a piece of cake last a week!  The only weakness that persisted was her love for ice cream!  I recall that I had a strong CRAVING for steak during those same early years of marriage.  Piper always said that it was because I needed more protein in my diet.  So, we ate a lot of steaks… not the most tender of cuts… but steak none-the-less!

Psalm 34:10 declares, “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.” (KJV)  According to Strong’s and Thayer’s, the phrase, “they that seek “ means “to frequent a place, to follow as to pursue or search, to CRAVE, to seek after carefully or diligently, to demand, to investigate, to practice or to study.”  The Passion Translation says this with great emotion by stating, “but those who passionately pursue the Lord will never lack any good thing.”

I had to stop in the middle of a task the other day and sincerely ask myself, that with Piper gone… WHO or WHAT am I craving after, seeking after, or pursuing?  WHO or WHAT am I frequenting, studying or practicing?

I’m pretty sure that I already knew the answer to that question… but what really got me to thinking, was if I was diligently seeking after, studying and/or pursuing the Lord with as much zeal, effort and ENJOYMENT as I did with Piper?  Am I waking up today, CRAVING to be in His presence as much as I CRAVED after Piper in the mornings with her calming, peaceful and satisfying scent of warm oatmeal?

I’ve come a long way since she was promoted to the Major Leagues in heaven.  The strong, almost over-whelming CRAVING that dominated my emotions is slowly becoming more of a longing now… But have I filled that huge void totally with Him as of yet?

To be perfectly honest… NO! …but I am consistently working toward that goal.  How about you?  WHO or WHAT do you CRAVE?

WHO or WHAT takes precedence in your daily thoughts?  WHO or WHAT should have first place?  Can you have more than one person or thing in that number one spot?  I personally believe that in marriage, you can.  Ecclesiastes 4:12 tells us that “Though one person may be overpowered by another, two people can resist one opponent. A triple-braided rope is not easily broken.” (God’s Word ©)

I can’t help but to think of the Lord when I think of Piper… or vise-versa!  The two of us, braided together in His love, made a fairly unbeatable force!  She introduced me to Him and together we grew in our knowledge and experience of Him by leaps and bounds.  I realized the other day that she went before me to begn her relationship with the Lord and brought me to Him at the start of our relationship… and now she’s doing it again, by going before me into heaven to prepare for my eventual trip home.  Pretty cool right?

So… for your homework tonight… I encourage you to think about the things that you CRAVE for… morning, noon and night.  Maybe there’s an adjustment that needs to be made and maybe not… only YOU can honestly answer that question.  Whatever YOUR answer is… look it over, check it out and then pray about whatever adjustments or fine-tuning needs to be made.  And then… Go For It!  But in doing so, remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day… these things can take some time, so, enjoy the process, enjoy each step and enjoy the ever-changing view along the way!

Have a great fresh, new week… and as you do, Keep EXPECTING God’s best for your life!