My First Boomerang Surprise!

Two surprise birthday parties for my Birthday Boy in the last 24 hours!  What could be better than all this, Lord???   🙂

Maybe it was the surprise I got?!

I’m calling it My Boomerang Surprise.  Because I threw one surprise and another surprise flew right back to me!

At Your prompting, Lord, I have been taking better care of my “temple” in these last few weeks.

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”  (1 Corinthians 3:16)

By Your grace, I have been succeeding!  Maybe that’s why today caught me by surprise.

One of the new declarations I have been repeating out loud every day is this:  “I will fuel my body with proper nutrition today — no excess sugar, no excess saturated fats, more fruits and vegetables.”  With my sugar consumption at an uncontrollable “addiction” level, I could have decided to go “cold turkey” and commit to never eating sugar again.

Lke I have done on so many occasions?!  I don’t think so!

This time, I gave myself permission to splurge once a week on some sugary dessert or treat.  Up until today, I had chosen not to have this one indulgence.  I thought I would save myself for something “big” — some mouth-watering, ultra-satisfying delicacy.  Chocolate was bound to be present in abundance!   🙂

With all the birthday festivities, I decided this would be the time I would allow myself this splurge.  Last night’s restaurant — the location of the first Birthday Surprise — didn’t have any dessert that really “called to me.”  So I decided I would have one of the homemade, double-chocolate, “decadent” brownies a friend of mine made for today’s party.

So I did.  My first dessert in several weeks.  Chocolate brownies so rich they were almost like fudge.

I expected my tastebuds to “explode” in ecstasy.  I expected to be strongly tempted to then stray off the path You have wooed me to follow.  My historical pattern had always consisted of “fasting” from sugar for an extended period, breaking the fast, rationalizing the continued consumption of rich, sugary desserts… and then stuffing myself with that Forbidden Fruit.

But that isn’t what happened today.

I took a bite of that brownie and felt… deeply disappointed.  No exploding tastebuds.  No “Wow! That was sure worth the wait!” feeling.  Just an all-around Flavor Failure.

I looked around.  Others were “ooing” and “awe-ing” with every bite, so the brownies must have tasted delicious.  But not to me.

Did You actually change my tastebuds in the last three weeks, Lord???  I felt as if I could live the rest of my life without trying another brownie.  There was no longing in my heart for them.  Just a shocking awareness in my head that I couldn’t care less about ever having any more.

I’m not saying I won’t.  After all, I am giving myself permission to have a weekly treat.  But I honestly don’t know what the future holds in this regard, Lord.

Because Your gift to me was unmistakableassurance that You are right here with me, helping me like no one else can.  Helping me do what I could never do on my own.

Changing my very tastebuds, if that’s the help I need.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

Oh yes, Lord… I do love surprises!!!

Gratefully,

Abba’s Girl

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