On Mother’s side, my grandmother saved leftovers, putting what was left from meals in the refrigerator. Daddy’s mother rarely saved them at all, and then for no more than a day. There was logic on both sides.
My mother’s mother was raised on a hilly, stony scratch farm where nothing went to waste. Throughout my childhood she told me to never throw away food because something could eat it even if we couldn’t. Till the end of her life, she saved stale bread for the birds and food scraps for the neighborhood feral cats.
My dad’s mother, Leila, was raised by a strict, thrifty German grandmother who likely saved leftovers, but I don’t have proof. What I do know is that Leila’s firstborn, a little boy named Peyton, died when he was two, probably from food poisoning brought on by poor food refrigeration at the time. Until she died, his memory was never far from her mind. And neither was her fear of leftovers. She chided Mother one day for putting a half jar of uneaten baby food in the fridge to hold over until later.
My family was a mixed bag when it came to leftovers. Mother saved anything that could be eaten later, and we usually did. Daddy loved leftovers but was more aware of the possibility of stuff being left in the refrigerator too long. He’d kid Mother after something had been in there a while (usually because she’d forgotten it was there). “Do you want me to throw this out now or wait until it molds.” She’d laugh and tell him to pitch it.
The problem with moldy food is that not only can it make you sick or even kill you, but it also spreads to whatever else is in the fridge. In this case, everything has to be removed and thrown out. Then the refrigerator must be scrubbed with a disinfectant and refilled with good food.
Our soul is a lot like a refrigerator. It receives and holds God’s bounty brought by the Holy Spirit. We take it out to nourish our bodies so we can bless ourselves and others. So too does God’s pure water flow into our soul to quench our thirst for God in our daily lives.
Our task is to keep our soul clean by culling old food that has become stale or no longer can be eaten, threatening to contaminate everything near it. Most of us have heard the adage about not storing a rotten apple in a bag of good apples. Not only will the ethylene gas it emits cause the other apples to decay, but it also will speed up the process.
The Fruit of the Spirit will rot if we don’t consume its nourishment and share what we have with others while it is ripe. Kindness can become stinginess and meanness. Ever known someone who’s a sour lemon? Think of Scrooge. Those who let joy spoil in their hearts become bitter. Love decays into loathing, even hate. Hate kills the soul.
The meat of God’s Word will putrefy if we don’t consume and replace it with a continual fresh supply of prayer, reading, fellowship, and good works that sate our hunger for God.
Ever smelled fetid water? Although the unfiltered water coming out of our refrigerators because the filter is clogged won’t stagnate to the point of being noxious, it contains minerals that can harm our health. Unlike mineral-saturated water, however, a clog in the supply of God’s living water flowing into our souls will become deadly to our life in Christ, smelling to high heaven.
If we want to continue to grow in Spirit, we need to to ask ourselves, “Am I willing to throw out the old food in my soul now, or do I want to wait until it rots and molds?” This isn’t a one-time altar call to give your life to God, but a question that should be asked often as we continue to live our lives in God.
Want to know more about what clogs and molds in your soul and how to keep it clean? Join us for our next Fifth Thursday Mini Soul Zoom Retreat on May 27 by using either the link here or the one in the Newsletter retreat announcement.
Until next month, may the Lord bless you and keep you.
HTC UWFaith Soul Care / Spiritual Growth Coordinator
*I’ll be happy to answer questions - just click on my name above to send me an email.
