Comfort

It's a gloomy Gus kind of a day. It's cold. It's foggy. It might rain. It might not rain. For those with curly hair, it's frizzy. For those with straight hair, it's kinky. A gray cloud seems to hang over the head of everyone I meet. I find it rather interesting how the weather can affect our mood.

Yesterday was icky too. Several people at work commented on how crappy their day was. I watched them shuffle from the office last night with shoulders slumped and frowns smeared across their faces. I asked one friend what was wrong and she said, "What isn't?" It seemed that everything had gone wrong yesterday and not just for me, but for many.

Even my kids were cranky. I arrived home to half-done chores, grumpy attitudes and smart aleck responses. "I'll fix them!" I thought. You see, I bought them ice cream for dessert but then denied it due to "bad behavior." Let's just say I didn't win any popularity contests with my kids last night.

But today I'm rethinking that strategy. First, sweets have always been a mood motivator for me. The reason why is that it works. Feed bad? Eat something sweet. It fixes the "bad" in a bad day. Scientific evidence proves that sugar is a mood elevator. So when everyone is having a bad day, shouldn't I give them a treat? It would certainly soothe their strident souls.

I realize I have major food issues, but my food issues are not my children's food issues(as they frequently remind me). I think I sometimes try so hard NOT to pass on my "food as comfort" attitude that I go too far in the other direction. My motto becomes, "deny, deny, deny." I really need to strike a better balance.

God created food to nourish our bodies and I don't think it was an accident that it elevates the chemicals in our brains that lift our mood. Therefore I don't think there is anything wrong with eating to soothe our bodies as long as we don't do it all the time and in quantities that harm us. For example, a hot fudge sundae after a difficult day is ok, but probably not the extra-large jumbo concrete.

It's sad that I so often corrupt the good things in life with my selfish, depraved nature. Everything inside me screams for more and better. Satisfaction always seems just out of my reach, around the corner, one pay grade higher. Is there anything in this world that could fully satisfy my heart?

I came into work with a pretty lousy attitude this morning. I didn't work out because honestly, I didn't feel like it. Then guilt nagged me all the way to work. I settled into my pity party determined that nothing and no one could make me feel better. Then I read my devotional book written by Joni Tada(a paraplegic) and read that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And I remembered that Jesus is the real source of all comfort and peace. If I run to Him when I am sad or lonely or hurting, he will go to the root of the problem and fix it(which He did).

With peace in my heart I can now extend a blessing to my crabby, stubborn, hard-hearted children and give them a sprinkling of grace with a side of chocolate fudge ice cream.