When You Eat It Anyway and Wishing You Were Here

You know how you sometimes see those silly adds that say,

"Five Foods You Should Never Eat"  

They flash and carry on and I whisper to myself, "Whatever."

Well, perhaps I had to take back a bit of my cynicism last night.

Things to Avoid Before Bed:

Popcorn

Wine

Are you whispering, "Whatever?" That is your right. 

Actually, you could probably get away with popcorn and wine before bed. Sometimes I can get away with popcorn and wine before bed, but last night was not one of those nights. 

I'm positive my nocturnal problem had everything to do with this glorious journey of changing hormones that I didn't actually sign up for, but am most definitely participating in so this morning, when I woke up at 3AM with a pounding head and a parched throat the first thing that came to mind was a flashing banner ad.

NEVER. NEVER. NEVER EAT POPCORN AND WINE BEFORE BED.

Whatever.

And so a new day begins with a touch of headache and a huge glass of water attached to my side.

In spite of my popcorn and wine weakness and my slightly disgruntled start to this day, I wish you were here with me right now. I'm tucked into Kelli's empty bedroom. I have her bedside lamp on and it gives this dark, early morning a cozy, tucked in feel. I shut the door and I believe I've entered a holy place.

And in this place I'm thinking about how I want to peel away everything that isn't me. The floating TV tidbits from last night, the snippets of yesterday's conversations that are still hanging from the ceiling of my brain, and today's list that is already forming like a dark cloud on the western horizon.

They don't belong in this holy place.  This is a place where the authentic me needs to be and so I want to strip off all those other things, those noisy things, those things that are flashy and distracting and maybe even a bit dirty, and simply sit here completely exposed.

Empty.

Naked.

Real. 

For it is when I am empty, naked and real that He can come and we can talk.

So come Lord Jesus.

Come.

 And in this time and in this place may I only be yours.

Amen.