I try to feed my family nutritious food, but I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes I fall short, very short. I was in the grocery store recently and we were buying items for my son’s birthday party. My youngest was turning five and what do all kids like at birthday parties? Everything that’s identified as being bad for us such as chocolate cake with whip cream frosting, ice cream, chips, soda and pizza, just to name a few items in my grocery cart that fateful day.
As part of my job, I occasionally work with the kind folks in a public health department in the County where I live. These are wonderful people, but to say they eat healthy, would not be doing their employees justice. Sitting in a meeting, I found out it was someone’s birthday and I assumed they had celebrated with cake or cupcakes or some other sweet treat. Only to find out every guest at the office birthday party brought a different quinoa salad. I was a wee bit shocked. These women didn’t even bust out of the health food grove for a coworker’s birthday party.
Imagine my surprise as I wheeled my cart with less than nutritious fare around the aisle, only to see one of the women from my meeting earlier in the week. She didn’t see me, but I saw nothing but vegetables and hummus in her cart. I would have done James Bond proud (if James Bond ever grocery shopped) with how quickly I maneuvered my grocery cart into another aisle to ensure she didn’t see my cart loaded down with every unhealthy item one could conjure up in the grocery store. I’m not sure why I felt the need to hide the unhealthiness in my cart, but I made a beeline for the checkout and then laughed at myself for thinking that this woman would judge me or think less of me because of what I had in my grocery cart.
It made me think how I try hiding things from God – as if the One who created the universe doesn’t already know every fault, misstep, and screw up I have done and will do in the future. Like the woman in the grocery store, I sometimes believe God will think less of me if I truly come clean to Him.
The Bible says, “Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the LORD.” Jeremiah 23:24 (NLT) We can’t hide from God – not physically, emotionally, or spiritually. He is everywhere. Instead of this feeling oppressive, I’ve begun to view it as a comfort. Where can I go or what can I do to be beyond God’s reach? The answer is nowhere. This means God always has my back. If I remember to turn everything over to Him, trust Him, and lean into Him, this is where I feel His love instead of any judgement. Are there things you need to trust God with and know he has your back?