Spit it Out
My daughter Beth has always been one of the wisest people that I have ever
known. Even as a baby this wisdom was apparent. I can remember when I first
tried to get her to eat green beans from a baby food jar. With the first
spoonful she made a terrible face. When I tried to give her a second spoonful
she spit it out instantly and it ran down her bib turning it an ugly shade of
green. I then foolishly tried to give her a third spoonful. This one she spit
out with such force that it landed on both my face and my shirt. When Beth saw
what she had done she let out a delighted giggle and I had to smile myself as I
wiped off my face. Later wondering how bad those green beans actually were I
took a bite of them myself. Never in my entire life had anything tasted quite so
nasty as they did.
Unlike that wise baby, though, many of us continue to take in nasty things
everyday of our lives. We hear terrible things said about ourselves and others.
We read words filled with hate and prejudice. We see acts of violence and
meanness everywhere we go. Instead of spitting them out and refusing to let them
dwell in our hearts, souls, and minds, however, we hold them inside of us,
digest them, and allow them to become a part of us. In the end we even become
more like these things ourselves. We are what we eat, after all.
Don’t allow yourself to keep eating and digesting the fear, anger, and hate that
this world so often tries to feed you. Spit it out. Refuse to take another bite.
And then like a happy Child of God return laughter, love, and joy for it
instead. God loves you and prepares you a meal of kindness, goodness, laughter,
smiles, love, joy, and oneness with Him everyday. Why eat something nasty when
you can delight in this feast and share it with the whole world instead?
Joseph J. Mazzella joecool@wirefire.com