I don’t know what it is about a grilled bologna and cheese sandwich that just feels like home. Perfectly toasted bread, ooey-gooey cheese and that too salty meat that you eat anyway because it’s just comforting. I wouldn’t go as far to call it “soul food”, but it’s definitely a comfort food. But it’s only comforting to me under one condition: if it’s cut into 4 triangles.
I know I know, it makes me sound like a picky 5 year old but I’m convinced it tastes better. It gives me the opportunity to savor every piece, pace myself and still continue to be excited to move on to the remaining little triangular finger sandwiches. When my grilled bologna and cheese sandwich isn’t cut into triangles It’s almost as if my desire to numb my “hunger pains” goes on overdrive causing me to test just how much of the sandwich I can stuff in my face in one bite. I know it’s not “lady-like” to admit this but I think it’s important to embrace the obvious harsh reality of what happens when you stuff your face full of food: you choke, cough, get a belly ache, requiring you to feel like you need to swallow a swig of Peptobismol to alleviate the side effects, but ultimately you’re left unsatisfied. A meal that was supposed to be enjoyable ended up being painful because it wasn’t consumed correctly.
But this reality doesn’t just apply to grilled bologna and cheese sandwiches. Consuming the word of God is the same way. Sometimes we can get so immersed in it—excited for what we can gain from it. So much so that sometimes we become overwhelmed with eye opening epiphanies, gut wrenching convictions and overwhelming emotions that stem from unearned grace and sacrificial unconditional love that’s we just feel exhausted to the point to where we can’t even sleep. (Trust me, I’ve been there) God’s word is not intended to be chubby-bunnied. (For those of you unfamiliar, with chubby bunny you can click here https://icebreakerideas.com/chubby-bunny-challenge )
Without consuming the word of God word by word, line by line, it can’t penetrate the parts of our hearts that long for it—require it for spiritual sustenance. The only way to write God’s word on your heart is one bite at a time. Not just ONE bite. It takes time to process, reflect and ultimately digest the word of God in a tangible healthy way to affect a genuine heart change. We shouldn’t walk around starving for truth or stuffed to the max with a spiritual food baby that overwhelms us to a pulp. Somewhere in the middle. Something that’s consumable, in pieces, alongside a nostalgic grilled bologna and cheese cut into four distinct triangles.
andrea statler 