I was feeling the need for warmth, comfort and "homeness" the other night so I did what all, good, southern women do. I made comfort food. This night, for me, that meant meatloaf. I don't make it very often because it's fattening and, let's face it, the kids normally won't eat it, but I needed comfort, and since I'm the cook, I win. It was accompanied by the required mashed potatoes and green beans. The only thing I was lacking was chocolate for dessert. This lapse was corrected by a Hershey's bar I had hidden in the bottom of my purse, slightly melted and misshapened but chocolate non the less.
We all have our moments of needing comfort and it starts from birth. Sometimes all a cranky newborn wants is the comfort found in his mother's arms. It doesn't change much as we grow. A toddler doesn't really want a band-aid for his skinned knee, he wants his mother's attention, kisses, and, yes, again, comfort. Along the way, our comfort needs may change from Mom's kisses to a blanket or a stuffed animal to a song, a friend, or even a particular routine, but we still all need that comfort. Psych doctors tell us it's an important step in development when we learn to "self-comfort". It's what makes our 5yr old be able to fall asleep by himself and our 1yr have a little more trouble.
As adults, since it's no longer acceptable to go running to Mom for kisses every time we have a bad day (plus by this time we've waaay outgrown her lap) we find other ways to self-comfort. Sometimes it's food (yes, I did go there), sometimes it's shopping, or exercising (I have no idea what that's about!) or any number of things. But, rest assured, we all need comfort.
Our attempts to find comfort in this life are, at best, a stop gap measure. True comfort is found only in God. The 23rd Psalm talks of how He comforts us, but my favorite is 2nd Corinthians 1 where He is called the God of all comfort. We live in the physical world, in the here and now, and He understands that. That's why His comfort can sneak up on us and we don't even realize it's Him.
I remember, after the commander was in the explosion, riding in the lear jet on the way to the burn center in Salt Lake City. It had all happened so fast. I was plucked from my everyday life with my kids and thrown into a whirlwind of ambulances and hospitals and people everywhere. My kids weren't with me and I was completely alone, or so I thought. It was so loud in that little jet. The pilots and paramedics had headphones and mics so they could talk to each other, but I had nothing. About an hour into the flight I was, in my heart and in my head, searching for God to somehow make sense out of my current insanity. I remember thinking, "Lord, I am so alone! I feel so isolated. If only I had someone to talk to, even for just a moment!" The prayer was only just completed when all of a sudden, the paramedic who had completely ignored me the entire trip, turned around and asked me how I was doing, offered me a coke and assured me that the flight was almost over. I needed that little bit of human contact to keep me grounded and God knew that. I don't know if this man knew God or anything about Him, but God used him to bring me comfort in a desperate situation.
His word says he comforts us and then we can comfort others with that same comfort.(2Cor1:4)Southern women have long known how this works. When I was growing up, anytime anything happened to anyone, the answer was always to take over food! Someone have a baby? Make a casserole, Hospitalized? Pot roast is the answer. Stubbed toe? It's time for cake! (that one was always my favorite!) Of course, taking food over was only the excuse used to be there, to spend time, to listen, to cry with, rejoice with, to hold a hand, hug a neck, in short, just to comfort.
My aim, today, is to be a little bit of comfort to someone, somewhere, even if it's right here within my own home. Maybe it's just a touch, a smile, an understanding ear, and maybe, just maybe it's a meatloaf.
Gotta run, there's leftovers in the fridge and they won't heat themselves!
Soaked in His blessings,
Spokenfor
Your writing comforts me. :-)
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