I'm a grown up now (in age at least). They say admitting "it" is the first step to recovery, but then "they" also think that microwaves cook from the inside out. (I smell a Daily Skinny on that...) Anyway, so here goes. Let's have a confession: I really like food. No, seriously. The Food Network is my CNN. Papa John is practically a member of my family. In fact, I affectionately refer to him as P.J. I just started doing research on my thesis, but it is slow going because I keep finding myself trolling google for new foods that some genius has begun stuffing with cream cheese. Why is there no Nobel Prize in food?! I would nominate the guy who thought of stuffed french toast. I must say that I do not envy really skinny people. To paraphrase Perry DeAngelis: "The amount of years that [they] will live longer than us because of [their] diet is directly proportional to the horror of [their] life." However, for my own good, I am learning to control my desire to consume all things cheesey, powdered, or fried.

I have a young child who apparently has a similar disposition for exuberance over all things tasty. When I get him up in the morning what is the first thing he wants? Candy. Come to think of it, I believe he could sign "candy" and "cheese" before he could say "daddy". (That's my boy!) We all know that this is no way for a child to eat. I have been trying to get him interested in healthier snacks like rice cakes, but I am not making much progress. The fact is that kids like to eat candy and junk food. They don't understand the importance of nutrition, so they just go by one thing - the taste.

You are probably wondering where I am going with this. I was reading in Isaiah the other day and I came across a verse that really got me thinking since it relates to food. "Hear, O Heavens, and give ear O earth: For the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me" (Isaiah 1:2) Isaiah goes on to say (I am super paraphrasing) that even dullwitted animals know where they get their food, but God's people wouldn't stop their hedonistic rush long enough to even think of him (v3). The people had rejected the Lord and his nourishment, and as a result were spiritually full of putrifying sores (v4-6). The children of Israel knew (as we do) that when God tries to nourish your spirit, it is usually not easy, fun or tasty.

I thought a lot about the word nourishment. As far as I know, "nourishment" does not mean "calories". In fact I read a story not too long ago about a family in Haiti that starved to death surrounded by food. They had plenty to eat, but not enough of certain nutrients to keep them alive. Similar to the unfortunate family in Haiti, the children of Isaiah's day were still spiritually "eating". They were still doing the sacrifices, and performances required by the law of Moses. However, they were not giving proper attention to their hearts. They were cultivating the inner spiritual life. Like my two year old, the only thing they cared about was whether or not "spirituality" was fun, popular, or politically correct. Their belief in God and his church only went as far as socially "reasonable".

I guess the point that I ended on was a lesson I always ponder when I read Zenos' allegory of the olive tree in Jacob 5. For me, one of the main messages here is that no matter where you are planted, and no matter how bad your situation is, you can produce great "fruit" if you let God nourish you.

It is an interesting irony I think of often. It is possible to eat and not be nourished, to skip a meal and not be fasting, to pray without praying and serve others without loving. Clearly I have much to learn about letting God nourish me (even when it is not fun). I am trying to increase my nourishment by serving more. Doing things for other people helps me remember how much I need Christs grace, and some how in giving I recieve more nourishment.

What do you do to make sure you are allowing God to nourish you? Leave a comment and help the rest of us.

(In the following, all names have been changed)

A few years ago, some really good friends of ours went on a trip. I will call them Hubert the Viking and Edna the Basque. They were flying back into town in the middle of the night, and since my wife and I lived reasonably close to the airport, they asked us to pick them and give them a ride home. I don't mind telling you that I felt very heroic for being asked to do such a big favor! My wife and I were all set. I wrote the date in the calendar, and we were very prepared to impress our friends with our level of commitment. The day before we were to pick them up, we got a call from Edna. I immediately wondered, "Did their plane get delayed? Are they changing plans?" I was wrong on both counts. Edna pointed out that we were supposed to pick them up LAST night. They had spent quite awhile trying to get in touch with us, and had finally given up and called a cab, or some real friends to pick them up in the middle of the night. Can you imagine? While they were exhausted in an airport in the middle of the night, my wife and I sleeping the night away because I had written in the wrong date on our calendar. Despite an attempt at revenge when Edna stuck gooey popcorn ball mush in my elbow, I can't help but feel stupid about the whole thing. Can you believe they still speak to us? I should say, my wife was not very impressed either. My mistake sort of reflected on her a bit. Being in the wrong place can be very bad or everyone involved.

Fast forward a little bit. Some good friends of my wife and I were recently sealed for eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. For those readers not familiar with the subject, it means that they have been married by an authorized representative of the Lord and that their marriage will continue indefinitely if they live worthy of it.

In any case, we were waiting one of the waiting rooms, and there some confusion because the friends we had come to see did not appear to be on the list of scheduled events that day. We finally got things figured out, but I was sweating bullets and thinking that I had remembered the wrong date or something. Soon other people from our ward and neighborhood began showing up, and there was a crowd of people relying on my ability to be somewhere at the right time and place. They didn't realize it, but they should have been scared. As we were waiting there, our Bishop said to the group, "Well if you believe the "Smith's", then we are in the right place."

Here I was sitting in a room of very good people, and a large portion of them were relying on how well I had led them to the correct place. They were not aware, but they should have been terrified! In fact, I have joked with a friend several times that if it had been me leading the saints across the U.S. instead of Brigham Young, we would have ended up in Milwaukee.

It is easy to doubt whether or not we are in the right place. I have heard some stupendous arguments for many things which I know are not true. In fact, sometimes the things that God wants us to do seem to make no sense. I realized that while I may feel unsure of my dates, and wonder why God does some things the way he does, there some things that I do know. Elder Dennis Neuenschwander gave a talk that I just listened to wherein he made the point: It is not enough to know what you believe; you must also believe what you know. For me, this was the quiet reminder that that Holy Ghost whispered to me in that waiting room: "You do not know everything, but you do know some things."
He is quite right. If you were to trust me to get you to something at the right day and place you might be in trouble. I don’t know how dinosaurs fit in the plan of salvation, I don’t know why some people are born with intense trials and temptations, and I don’t know how Australopithecus Afarensis fits in with the creation story. In fact, I could write a shelf of books of things that I do not know. Many questions could be asked me for which I would have no answer.
But there are things I do know. I do know that God is our Father. He exists despite all “reasoning” to the contrary. I do not know all things, but I know that he loves his children. God has a son, and true faith in him leads to eternal life. In that respect I know I am in the right place. That my friend, is something you can take to the bank. This is a handrail that, for me, is bolted into bedrock.

**I should note that we were indeed in the correct place for the wedding.**