12 May 2021

I noticed the top of her head first, then the rest of her body followed. She came up from underneath the round table and onto a nearby chair, surveyed what was on the table then bopped down again. She then moved to another position around the table and she repeated the process. Hopped up onto a chair, surveyed what she could see on the table and then bopped down again and so it went on till she had gone around the entire table. At this stage I had walked over to her and asked, “Willow can I help?”

Willow is my three-year-old granddaughter. She looked up at me and said, “I don’t know what to choose to eat.” The table that she had been surveying was laden with delicious nibbles, finger-foods, cakes……. So, I patiently went and described all the plates of food and what was in them so she could pick what ‘tickled her fancy.’ After going through a delightful list of stewed onions in a pastry case, little tarts, little finger quiches, hummus dip with celery and carrot sticks, cream horns, crème brulee, chocolate eclairs, salted caramel tarts and the list went on…….

Willow chose a packet of popcorn and a piece of chocolate cake.

It made me realise she was only three and probably had not even tasted half the things on the table before, and so was limited to what she thought she might like. Often at this age they don’t want to try anything new unless you coax them and tell them that they will like it – take a bite.

It brought to my mind the scripture of while babies are little children they still drink milk which is ok but when we are older we need to eat solid food.

It is found in Hebrews.

¹² For though by this time you ought to be teachers [because of the time you have had to learn these truths], you actually need someone to teach you again the elementary principles of God’s word [from the beginning], and you have come to be continually in need of milk, not solid food. ¹³ For everyone who lives on milk is [doctrinally inexperienced and] unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a spiritual infant. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the [spiritually] mature, whose senses are trained by practice to distinguish between what is morally good and what is evil.

Hebrews 5:12-14 AMP

The writer, Paul, was trying to suggest that some Jewish Christians had become sluggish, and apathy had set in, in their spiritual growth by using the analogy of a child’s development surviving on milk because they are not yet mature enough to eat solid food.

OUR own personal spiritual growth involves, yes CHRIST’s Grace and Spirit teaching us, but it also involves us to go after it, to go seek HIM, go seek knowledge, go study scripture, the catechism, spiritual writings…. We need to mature from simpler things, concepts, ideas and understandings to a believer who understands things of greater substance.

This ultimately comes from spending time with the Lord and being guided by His Spirit. Investing the time in for ourselves to learn, to grow and develop spiritual muscles. Then we can start being teachers to the young (and this does not mean just by human age).

Now I’m not just talking about Academia (the head knowledge of God) or Theology (the study of God), but very much the HEART knowledge of God.

Many Saints, past and present, may not have had the ability or the accessibility to read learned books but they ALL spent time with their God. Praying and meditating upon what God revealed to them in their Hearts, minds and souls. We all can learn from those who are learned. Start with the “mushy, simple food,” easy reading spiritual books and then try the next level and the next. Be guided by others who have gone before, mentors, those “older mature Christians” who teach us so that we are able to become the Christians who eat solid food as referred to in Hebrews. We all need to pass it onto the next generation. Like a relay race. So, we all cross the finishing line and win.

Next time I am going to entice Willow to try a taste of something new, something different that I think she may like. It’s the only way she will grow and mature. But I feel I don’t want to just do it with food around a table but the eternal food of the Lord around the table He invites us to in the Eucharist.

So come take little bites. Find something to read, to learn from, to discuss with others so that we all start eating the solid food God has for us.

May these jottings from my journal inspire you to believe in and fall in love with Christ- the hope of the world, as stated in Jeremiah 17:7, ‘Blessed is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord!’

Love

Rosemary

Every week groups of ladies meet together to chat about the things I raise in my weekly blog post and to chat about life in general. We call these ‘Heart Connect’ groups. If you would like more information please click HERE.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Do you need to grow from milk to solid food in your spiritual growth?

What spiritual reading are you doing?

Are you having spiritual conversations with mature Christians in your life?