Soul Food to Go

“O, Taste and see the Lord is good.”  Psalm 34:8a

Years ago, I loved the song “Soul Food to Go” by the group Manhattan Transfer and I can even still sing the chorus though the rest of the lyrics escape me.  My idea of edible soul food is what I would deem Southern comfort food like mac and cheese, cornbread and mashed potatoes (sans gravy; everybody says there must be some Yankee in me!) But my idea of real soul food is much broader.

While there’s no substitute for the bread of life found in God’s Word, I often feel God feeds my spirit through the beauty of nature. Thanks to some precious friends I recently received both kinds of soul food when I stayed with them at their home in the mountains of north Georgia. This couple has the true gift of hospitality which afforded me time in a remote, peaceful town where all you heard at night were birds and the only lights you saw were from the fireflies flitting around the yard.

Their perch nearly 3,000 feet in the air afforded spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains in all their moods which were affected by the mists, the clouds and the sunlight. The only thing that really drew my attention away from the tree-covered giants were the cardinals, blue jays and hummingbirds flitting to nearby trees and bird feeders.

After more than a year of tremendous challenges and just two months after Daddy’s homegoing, this trip was exactly what I needed to restore my spirit. But then God always knows how to set a table and thankfully, He allows “to-go” boxes so I didn’t have to leave my peace and joy in the mountains. After my trip, He sent me home with a hefty doggy bag filled with His goodness.

A Rainbow of Promises

“My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky…” William Wordsworth

Last week I noticed a vibrant rainbow reflected in a dark, turned-off t.v. screen. I couldn’t figure out what source had refracted the light but I didn’t really care as I was transfixed by the radiant spectrum of color. You see, I have always loved rainbows. As a child, whenever I opened a new box of 64 Crayola crayons, I would organize them according to Roy G. Biv (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet). Within each hue, I would create a mini-spectrum of shades so they blended as seamlessly as possible (after all, what do you do with the metallics?)

I can remember seeing a rainbow in my children’s picture Bible where it first makes an appearance in Genesis as an emblem of God’s promise to Noah and mankind that He will never again destroy the earth through a worldwide flood. The only other time I know the Bible refers to a rainbow is in Revelation when John describes the throne of God as being encircled by one. The scene is a beautiful picture that reminds us that all of God’s promises flow from His throne of mercy. 

There have been pivotal times in my life where God has drawn my attention to the sky to focus on one of His rainbows and one of His promises. Like the beautiful spectrum of colors, God’s promises are vibrant, glowing with His light. But unlike the transient rainbow that fades before our eyes, God’s promises are everlasting.

2 Corinthians 1:20: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.”

1 Kings 8:56b:  "Not one word has failed of all the good promises He gave through His servant Moses."