Hunger, Thirst, and Cravings

I'm craving ice cream, but I feel like I have already had enough sugar for the day. I then start to think, hmmm, what else can I have that's healthier? Fruit? Nuts? Crackers? I try fruit, because it is sweet and that might meet my craving. Nope, not this time. Maybe a sweet drink would do the trick, so let's try a homemade iced coffee (I like my coffee sweet). Coffee sometimes makes my stomach weird so I have some crackers to settle it--something salty...now I'm thirsty. After a glass of unsweetened green tea I find that the craving is still there. Fine--I'll just have a smidge of ice cream...

(Noah's first taste of ice cream a few summers ago--gotta teach the kid to enjoy Kohr Bros. as much as I do!)

Oh the cycle of cravings. I should tell you to fight the cravings, but the truth is there are times when it's good to just have a small amount of your craving to hold you over. I started thinking more on this topic after my Sunday morning church service on the porch of my parents beach house. Just me, the rocking chair, and God's word.

Here's the thing, I love talking about healthy living and helping people try to create a healthy lifestyle. However, healthy living is so much more than exercise and eating. There is a craving that runs much deeper than ice cream, and when it is satisfied by the right thing, nothing can compare. There are times when we are searching for something deeper, and we strive to find meaning and purpose in all kinds of things--good or bad. We find a good cause to support, a people group to raise awareness about, a ministry to invest in, a health goal to meet. It consumes us and gives us purpose. And these things are not bad, so we don't feel guilty about how much it consumes us.... However, there is something missing and we are not fully satisfied. I see it all the time, and I experience it myself often.

You see, this time spent on the porch was so great because I realized I have been trying to satisfy my craving with other things when I really should have just let my thirst be quenched. Here is what I read:

You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you. Psalm 63:1-5

I would be wrong to tell you that the best thing you can do for yourself is to eat right and exercise. God's love is better than life--we don't deserve it, and yet he gives it. He is what makes me fully satisfied.

By the way, here is a link to a previous post about a homemade ice cream option. YUM!