Every Day Food

My dogs jump up every morning and head to the kitchen, ready for their favorite event: E A T I N G! With all the excitement, you would think I had cooked up a feast, complete with a variety of flavors and textures, put it out on the fine china and ordered dessert.

Heavens no! In their dog food bowls I pour exactly 1/2 cup of dried dog food: NutraPro, Lamb and Rice. The "lite" version for Dora Mae and her adult body, the normal version for Thelma Lou.

They dance excitedly while I dump the contents into their bowls and place them on the floor. After their food, they head out through the doggy door for a necessity run. And once they have checked out the yard and done their business, Dora finds me. If I am sitting down, she jumps next to me and looks at me with the most precious face. She reaches over (if I'm not careful) and licks my face. She is so grateful for her food. This dog is easy to love.

Lately I've been calorie counting, point watching (if you are on WW you know what I mean), and daily I've been eating a bowl of Weight Loss Oatmeal (with lower calories, higher fiber and protein). It comes in a few flavors but they really are just oatmeal. Its edible but after a while, its more bleah than anything. I sometimes get bummed out, thinking I'm missing yummy chocolate calories somehow.

And then I think of manna. How would I have handled God's daily provision while the children of Israel roamed and browsed through the wilderness? Would I have gotten an attitude and grumbled along with the crowd? I would hope I'd be more like my dogs who get dished the same meal day after day without complaint AND demonstrate gratitude. But I fear not. My oatmeal reminds me I tire easily like the rest of them.

Then Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35