Grit & Grace: 5-Day Devos For Moms Of Young KidsSample

Soul Food

“Fissy, Mama, fissy.” Titus had been saying it for a week in his sweet, almost two-year-old voice. Then the guessing game would start. We were vacationing in Hawaii and had experienced all sorts of wonderful things: snorkeling, hiking, boogie boarding, and beach time.

“Do you want to see the fish, buddy?”

“No.”

“You want to go play in the water?”

“Uh-huh,” came his hopeful reply.

I’d walk over and get his swimsuit and he’d start up again.

“No, Mama. Fissy.”

As the days wore on, and the unfruitful dialogue continued, we all became increasingly frustrated. Then one afternoon, just after his nap, Titus once again said, “Fissy, Mama.” Oh, here we go again. I stared at him, tilted my head to the side, and said slowly, “Buddy, are you thirsty?”

“Yeah,” came the sweet, tender reply.

It was so simple once I figured it out. But it took really putting in the time and effort to decode his language.

Much like Titus, our souls are speaking to us. We all long for intimacy, love, peace, rest, relationship. The question is, how do we fill the longings of our souls?

If you’re anything like me, you might turn to social media to connect with someone over the age of 5. But social media won’t fill that longing. Or maybe you’re looking to your husband to solve all your intimacy needs—something he was never intended to do. Or maybe you find that even being a mom, though wonderful, isn’t completely fulfilling.

Listen to the words of David in Psalm 63: “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole body longs for you…I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods…I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.”

When we understand that our soul is actually hungry and thirsty for God and we look to Him to feed and nourish it, He actually gives us good food.

Psalm 107:9 tells us, “he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”

His food is restorative. It’s good.

How are you feeding your soul? What does it look like to go to God first for that filling? Reading his Word, seeking Him in prayer and finding opportunities to worship are a few ways you can keep the lines open throughout your day.

Make today a day of getting soul food from the One who made you.