Constant Craving

Nope, not a song this morning, an honest to goodness craving…

I know you’re sitting there thinking, “what for?”

I am craving (and woke up at 5:00 a.m. craving) a Krispy Kreme donut filled with either the Bavarian creamy stuff OR preferably that stuff that’s like wedding cake icing….Thank GOD I live a few miles away from that den of temptation or I’d be ‘stuffing’ myself without a thought to the icing or filling sprinkling my mouth as I torpedo the little delight in!

That may not seem like such “biggee” to those of you who live outside Oklahoma…but here, in the south (said with a drawl and the word ‘south’ has 2 syllables)…we ladies, carry ourselves with dignity and would never risk smearing our lipstick, God forbid having someone from Kickboxing class see us indulging in the carbohydrate death knoll of a Krispy Kreme donut, much less one FILLED with refined sugar. These episodes are strictly for the weak willed or those who can sneak it home and get in the closet before the feeling passes or the scent draws predators!

I settled for my usual breakfast of a South Beach Diet meal replacement bar…though it is the peanut butter and chocolate kind and quite yummy AND I have my peppermint coffee to top it all off…so I’m NOT hurtin’.

As far as KICKBOXING goes…I’ve seen people really succeed in it. The key to success, in my observation, has always been, they were YOUNG people; under 30 in fact! While I’m not Methuselah, I am not quite as limber and agile as I was when I WAS 30…I TRIED the Tae Boe tapes (in the privacy of my own home) and let me tell you…aside from looking like a complete goof while kicking, air-punching, etc, I dang near fell over BEFORE that darling and BUFF, Billy Blanks informed the viewers we might want to use a chair for balance! Good GRIEF…you don’t think that information would have been helpful BEFORE I fell down, do ya’? (side note: eject tape…put in next garage sale). Bear in mind, I NEVER took ballet as a child…standing on one leg for anything other then hopscotch, was strictly for the flamingos!

So…what is all this rambling about Krispy Kreme donuts and exercise venues have to do with anything…

First of all, if I have to EXPLAIN the craving of a Krispy Kreme donut, you either live in a place void of these carb killers, or you are a compliant diabetic avoiding the risk of immediate coma and death should your mouth receive one of these bad boys! But since you’ve read this far only to be mildly amused…I’ll proceed with the ‘life lesson’.

When my body craves something, sometimes it’s out of sheer desire, and I wait (sometimes) for the Holy Spirit fruit of “self-control” to guide me safely away from my fleshly desire back to peace in God’s desire. AND sometimes when our body craves something, food or non-food, it’s because we are lacking something vital that is provided by that ‘filler’. The filler could meet the actual need, i.e. craving salt when our bodies are depleted from exercise…or it could act as a placebo.

Speaking as someone who has traveled over half of her journey FILLING up on the placebo of FOOD when I was actually lacking something non-edible…emotional eating or emotional starvation is NOT the best place to be.

I’m not a psychologist, but I’ve traveled the journey myself and speak from experience when I say: God is the only one who can “FILL THE VOID”. God is the only one who can IDENTIFY the true void and fill it. God, as our creator, made us to be complete IN HIM! Each of us have that “God shaped hole” within, that needs to be filled. For me, this morning, this means I don’t NEED a Krispy Kreme donut to fill myself with goodness…while the Holy Spirit may not SEEM as appealing…I know the effects the Holy Spirit have on me are far more lasting then the fleeting taste of the Krispy Kreme donut.