Say Cheese!

It was 3 days after my surgery and it was time for the boys to eat lunch. My husband, who has taken a week off from work to take care of me, the kids and manage the household was in the kitchen preparing their meal. While he settled them into their seats at the dining room table, I quietly made my way into the living room to avoid the torture of watching them eat. At this point, I was only on the 2nd day of a 14 day all liquid diet to help my body recover from the surgery. The boys were happily munching away on their grilled cheese sandwiches and “gasp!” my all time favorite salty snack…Gibble’s Cheese Puffy’s! I did all I could to avoid hearing the crunch crunch of those little cheese coated bits of heaven. I flipped through a magazine, I turned up the volume on the t.v., I fiddled with ornaments on the Christmas tree. I was doing alright. I was managing to keep myself under control until………………..all 3 boys finished at the same time and they all wanted their hands and faces wiped simultaneously. Tom, who was doing his best to keep the cheesy madness under control, needed my help. I bravely walked into the dining room and grabbed a wipe. I reached down to begin cleaning Ezra’s hands and face when all of a sudden time stood still! It was just me and those cheese infested hands calling out to me! The urge was so great. I could barely resist it. I wanted to lick the cheese right off of his little fingers and before I could help myself, I blurted it out…”Ezra, you don’t know how bad mommy wants to lick your fingers right now!” Oh how he giggled. He’s 2 and these things amuse a 2 year old. So, do you know what he did? He held his little sin-filled hands up to me and said “Lick em, Mommy! Lick em!” How dare he? Does he know what pain I’m in? I was able to maintain composure and assured him that I was just kidding and somehow I managed to get him cleaned up and sent him on his way! This left me reeling! How could I be so addicted to a food as to only be 5 days without it and wanting to lick my child’s fingers just to get a taste? I’m reminded of the scripture in the bible... Mark 7:27 and 28 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.
And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.
I was reminded once again that if I’m going to make it through this journey, it’s going to be only because of Jesus and His strength in me! Let us pray……..