What do you like?

The scene is classic. It has been in everyone's home. Mom prepares a splendid dinner, carefully planned and beautifully executed. Antique plates and matching saucers adorn the white linen-clothed table. The napkins are set, cutlery dispersed. All that is lacking are the people. As the family gathers and take their places, grace is said, and the food is served. As if a baseball had just crashed through the family room's window, the 4 year old cries, "Yuck, I hate this meal!!!" The whining escalates, "Mommy, I don't like this at all." The emotions continue to rise.... You can fill in the story from here.

No matter how you handle dinner time woes, we can't ignore the fact that we all definitely have our list of things we like and things we don't like. As a mom, I try to be gracious at the table and understand if someone's favorite isn't mashed potatoes. They don't have to be your favorite, but you can take a few bites without a grumpy face. I know that as their little taste buds are forming, preferences change and also you don't know if you truly love something until you've had it 5 or so times. But the fact still remains no matter... sometimes we just don't like tomatoes no matter how many times we've tried them.

That train of thought led me to thinking how the God who formed the Universe also created in me my likes and dislikes. He formed my personality, my strong will, my passion for things. When yielded to Him, our inclinations and even our distastes can be used by Him to direct our paths and even steer us from danger. Think of how in pregnancy our senses are heightened. Particularly the sense of smell and taste. If you are curious if the left overs have spoiled, just ask the mother-to-be!! In the same way, God can use our passions to show us His calling on our life. There was a time when I had an extreme dislike for how one area of our life was going. I didn't like how things were being handled and on and on the list went. Adam and I griped and griped about it for months. We didn't see anything bibically wrong, it was just our life situation and strong personal preference. So we decided that instead of continually griping about it (Mommy, I don't like this!!!) we would change that area of our life. Harmony soon  followed.... yeah! Not too long after, we watch something like a lead weight hit the area where we were, and had we stayed, we'd have been hit too. In our case, our strong inclinations and passions served to protect our family.

I think the best word here is Convictions. Follow those God-instilled convictions. It may even be over little details. Have you heard William Tyndale's story?  If he hadn't been passionately convicted to translate the Bible into English, no matter what the cost, we may still have to know Latin to read the scriptures. Tyndale gave his life for those translations, and I bet he was a passionate 4 yr old who had his moments at the dinner table!!