One night, a mother fixed a special meal for her family: turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, and apple pie for dessert.
It was everyone’s favorite meal, especially when it came at a time other than Thanksgiving. The aroma filled the house, and as the children came in from playing they could hardly wait for dinner to begin.
The last child appeared only a few minutes before dinner time and sat through the meal without eating, even though he especially loved the foods in front of him Why? Because he had filled up on lots of candy and ice cream at a friend’s house.
In settling for something good, he had lost his appetite for the best.
The same applies to our spiritual appetites and our spiritual growth. Some people don’t have much of an appetite for spiritual food and spiritual growth because they have satisfied themselves with lesser things.
Thanks to Michael P. Green for sharing.
Learn to love without condition
Talk without bad intention
Give without any reason
And most of all………
Care for people without any expectation.
Life doesn’t get easier…..
You just get stronger!
When you really look at yourself the last few months……
How do you find that YOU…..Love…..Talk…..Give…..and Care compared to the 4 listed above?
AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU CAN FOCUS ON WHAT’S TEARING YOU APART, OR WHAT’S HOLDING YOU TOGETHER!
My Commentary:
This touching story about a child losing his appetite for a special family meal because he filled up on sweets at a friend’s house is a powerful metaphor for our spiritual lives. The food he rejected wasn’t bad—it was, in fact, his favorite. But in indulging in what was merely “good,” he lost the hunger for what was truly “best.” So often in life, we fill ourselves with distractions—comforts, entertainment, shallow relationships—that keep us from seeking the deeper nourishment our souls need: prayer, love, purpose, and communion with God.
Spiritual hunger is not always absent; it is often dulled. When we become spiritually indifferent, it’s rarely because the “meal” God offers is unappealing—it’s because we’ve already fed ourselves on lesser things. Just as the body craves nourishment, the soul yearns for meaning, for connection, for divine truth. But when filled with noise, ego, and selfishness, we lose our taste for grace.
This reflection also gently challenges us to examine how we live out love, speech, generosity, and care. Do we love with conditions? Speak with sarcasm or resentment? Give to get something in return? Expect gratitude or recognition when we help others? These questions aren’t meant to shame but to awaken our appetite again—for what really matters.
My Prayer Reflection:
Gracious God,
You have set a feast before us—rich in mercy, wisdom, and love.
And yet, too often, we nibble at what the world offers, filling our hearts with distractions that leave us empty inside.
Reawaken our hunger for You. Remind us that only You satisfy the longing within us.
Teach us to love like You—without conditions.
To speak like You—with kindness and honesty.
To give like You—without calculation.
And to care like You—with no expectations in return.
In a world that constantly pulls us in different directions, help us not to settle for what is “good enough.”
Strengthen us to seek what is best, to hunger for what is eternal, and to feed others with the same grace You so freely give us.
At the end of each day, O Lord, may we not focus on what we’ve lost, but on what holds us together—Your love, Your truth, and the people You place in our lives.
Amen.
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