Thoughts for Life: An Oreo Cookie Kind of Day

Friday, August 10, 2012

An Oreo Cookie Kind of Day

Emily Easley was having an Oreo cookie kind of day. She needed a break!

Nothing made my daughter happy — crying one minute and growling the next.

I didn’t take kindly to being snarled at by a child. Nor did I appreciate ugliness in the tone of her voice.

Her strong-willed temperament took charge of my to-do list.

I accomplished nothing and my attitude sped downhill fast. Her behavior frustrated me to tears and my response ended up as stinky as her mood.

By mid-morning my normally sweet, loving child turned into a ferocious animal. I needed a break.

'You deserve a snack,' I told myself. 'Oreo cookies dipped in ice cold milk sounds perfect.'

Creamy, white filling sandwiched between two crunchy, chocolate cookies, Mmmm, comfort to my soul.

Oreos don’t growl or talk back. Oreo cookies were just what I needed.

Then it hit me. What would happen if I acknowledged what was really going on here?

My daughter was not the problem and Oreos not the answer.

All too often I turn to food for comfort, only to realize it never soothes my soul. The only source of lasting satisfaction is God.

When life’s circumstances come against me, my first response should be to feast on prayer and God’s Word.

I neglected to find nourishment from God’s Word and as a result, my mind had no Truth on which to meditate. Truth would have told me to respond with patience and in love. Instead I reacted out of haste and annoyance.

Jesus promised He is the bread and water we need to get through any situation – big or small.

All we have to do is turn to Him. It seems easy enough. My soul hungers for peace, yet I continue to turn to other sources of comfort that leave me feeling unsatisfied.

Lasting nourishment only comes from feasting on the Bread of life, Jesus.

"And Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.' " John 6:34-36 (NKJV)

Will you break off a piece of the bread of life and be fed?"

An Oreo Cookie Kind of Day – Emily Easley
Posted on July 15, 2012

(Emphasis added)

Emily Easley finds herself falling in love with the Creator of the Universe. The other loves of her life include her husband, Josh, and daughter, Lillie Kate.

Her heart’s longing is to be the woman God desires her to be and to share God’s transforming power with others.

On most days, you can find her fulfilling her dreams as a wife, mother, and writer at her home located in a small town of western Kentucky. Emily wants to encourage others to say yes to whatever God asks of them, for in that is life’s greatest blessing.