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.