Fearfully
and Wonderfully Made
I thought I had a draft written for
this week’s post, but last night (Tuesday) as I readied for sleep, I realized,
‘Nope, that won’t do.’ Uh oh, now
what?
‘Tomorrow is Wednesday; the sun is
to shine, and I want to plant flowers.’
So before I closed my eyes, I
prayed.
God is faithful. The Wise One woke me at 3:30 this morning
(Wednesday), so I got up, started the coffee, got out pen and paper, sat at my
desk, PRAYED and wrote.
I wrote a fairly decent draft, but
as I showered, my stomach growled, and I realized that draft was not the post
for this week either, so here I am—at the drafting board again.
My stomach’s growling made me
realize how “fearfully and wonderfully” God has made us humans (Psalm 139:14
NIV).
Our cars have gas gauges,
right? When my car needs gas, the arrow
nears Empty. If I don’t put gas in my
car, it’s not going to take me any place.
God has given us fuel gauges
also. Just as I need to fill my car with
fuel, I need to fill my body with fuel so that it can function the way God
intends it to. And God has given us
signals as to when our bodies need food.
My stomach’s growling is one kind of sign God has given my body to tell
me it’s hungry.
Another way my body tells me it’s
hungry, especially if several hours have passed since I last ate, is a
headache. Or I might just plainly feel
empty.
If I wait to eat until I’m hungry,
the gas gauge God has built into my body works perfectly, for it also lets me
know when I am full—just like the gas gauge in my car lets me know when the
tank is full.
The key, I’ve learned, to knowing
when I’ve eaten enough is to eat slowly, for if I eat too fast, I’ve found I
don’t give my belly enough time to know when it is full. I need to follow my body’s signal and stop
eating—even if food remains on my plate.
That’s hard, for I grew up in a household where we were to eat all the
food we took.
Not only does my bodily gas gauge
tell me when I am hungry and when I am full, it also tells me what to eat by letting
me know for what I am hungry. For
example, I haven’t eaten breakfast yet, and I’ve already told you my body has
told me it’s hungry. I’m hungry for my
homemade granola this morning. On other
mornings, I’m hungry for almond butter on toast. Sometimes scrambled eggs with French style
green beans (It’s a family thing, but try it; you might like it) appeals to my
palate.
“God’s works are wonderful (Psalm
139:14 NIV).” When I take time to
consider the Holy One’s Creation, I am awed by how everything works together.
Sharon Witty
