Breakfast in Bed
The other morning, Jason and I were sitting in bed, watching a show. It had been a crazy busy week and even crazier weekend, so we decided to take an easy morning. We had just finished breakfast in bed when I noticed Tess pulling at the covers.
She usually does this when she's cold and is trying to get snuggled under the blankets. I hardly gave it a second thought at first, assuming she wanted her usual warm nest between us. However, on this particular occasion, she had a different goal entirely.
I watched her unusual behavior for a few minutes. She would tug at the blanket, disappear from the bedroom, then return moments later to hop onto the bed. Each time she returned, I noticed a slight crunching sound. Curious, I paid closer attention during her next trip.
That's when I suddenly realized what she was doing. She was going into the foyer, getting a mouthful of food out of her Wobble Kong toy, and bringing it to the bed to eat. I burst out laughing and nudged Jason.
"Look at this! She's literally bringing her food to the bed. I guess she wanted breakfast in bed, too!"
Our clever little terrier had observed our lazy morning ritual and decided, "Why should they have all the fun?" Instead of eating directly from her toy as usual, she was making the extra effort to transport each mouthful to our comfortable bed. Talk about a dog learning from her humans!
I couldn't help but think about how often we humans do the same thing spiritually. We observe others and their relationship with God, and we think, "I want what they have." We see their peace, their joy, their confidence in the Lord, and we desire to experience those same blessings.
But here's where we often differ from Tess. While she took immediate action to get what she wanted, we frequently admire others' spiritual lives without making the effort to nurture our own relationship with God.
Scripture reminds us in James 1:22, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."
We can watch Christian programmes, listen to inspiring sermons, and read uplifting books, but if we never take action, we're just spectators of faith rather than participants.
True spiritual nourishment requires effort. It means opening our Bibles daily, even when we don't feel like it. It means praying earnestly, even when the words don't come easily. It means serving others, even when our schedules are already full.
Psalm 34:8 encourages us to "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."
God invites us to experience His goodness firsthand, not just observe it in others' lives.
So perhaps we should be more like Tess by identifying what we need for our spiritual wellbeing and taking deliberate steps to obtain it. No more sitting on the sidelines, watching others enjoy the feast. It's time to bring our spiritual breakfast to bed, so to speak, and savor every morsel of what God has for us.
After all, God's table is always set, and He's invited each of us to partake.