potato chips and Jesus

Prayer, I'm told, is a conversation with God.

If that's the case how come lately when I pray I keep seeing in my mind a bag of Bar-b-que potato chips?

I don't see chips when I talk to people.  But then, I don't have to fill in the blanks when I talk to people. I can see, hear and touch them. But where there's a blank space - that's where the potato chips sneak in - and a whole lot of other stuff.

Maybe it's just me, but I get distracted when I talk to God.

I come to Him with the best of intentions. I picture Luther spread eagle and face down on a stone floor crying out to the Lord.  I imagine the Apostle Paul, chained to a guard, interceding on behalf of the saints. I see Augustine and Tozier prostrating themselves before their Creator.

And then there's me - half awake and half-hearted, kneeling uncomfortably within the comfort of my climate controlled house, thinking about anything and everything except the Person whose face I "seek". Ever been there? 

There are probably a thousand reasons I get distracted before God, but one (the chip thing) sticks out from the rest.  

When I eat potato chips I hear them "crunch". When I speak with God I often hear nothing. I can taste chips on my tongue, lick the salt from my fingers and wrinkle the bag when I'm through. I like that. I like the fact that I can consume a bag of chips and move on with my day.

Not so with God. To taste God I must sit still. I must relax before Him with no agenda save to enjoy His presence. 

We do not consume God.  He consumes us! He is our everything! He is our comfort and our hope, our tomorrow and our salvation, our Creator and friend. He is our everything!

He's all that... and a bag of chips.

 

 

Comments

[Erin Brown]

I know what you mean. Thanks for being candid...as usual. Hope you guys are well.