Taste and see...

How do you describe the taste of chocolate to someone who has never once felt its wonder on his tongue? Sacramento Bee food critic Chris Macias stated, "Sensitivity to taste is as unique as a fingerprint."  Not everyone can taste phenylthiocarbamide (PTC). If you have the right genetic make up, PTC tastes bitter to you. If you do not have it, PTC is virtually tasteless. Studies indicate that up to 70% of tasters have bitter-blindness.  Try as you might, you will not be able to describe to them those who lack the alleles responsible for perceiving these tastes. Besides non-tasters, there are also supertasters who are highly sensitive and your more average taste buds.  When I was very ill with Graves' disease, I had to take a positively nasty drug called propylthiouracil. It was a tiny pill but just a moment in my mouth waiting for water to flush it down was terrible to endure. Dr. Linda Bartoshuk, who is a professor at the University of Florida, discovered that while about 25% of the population is extremely sensitive to the taste of this chemical, an equal portion (25-30%) cannot taste it. This means that there are about 45-50% who can taste it but it isn't as offensive to their tongue. 

"Taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." Psalm 34:8 (NIV) Those of us who know the Lord can vouch that this is indeed true. However, there are those who cannot "taste" His presence. Without rebirth in Christ, you can describe your experience as simply or grandly, with all the passion and fire you can muster, or in a cool, calm, logical fashion and still you will not be able to convince them that this "taste" is possible because to them the Lord is just a myth. Along with not persuading them, you will also likely get scoffed at for believing in a fairy tale.  In debating with atheists, what I discovered is that there is a strong aversion to the mere thought that you, Christian, believe yourself to have something, some special knowledge, that they do not have. That aversion may evolve into outright anger if they also develop an idea that the values for which you stand, thanks to what they believe is your mythical deity, are in opposition to attitude and life choices they hold. 

Their lack of "taste" for the Lord is similar to the genetics of non-tasters. Of course, this would horrify and outrage an atheist to hear it, but just because they cannot comprehend the Godhead, does not mean that He does not exist and that we are not daily experiencing His presence. Yes, this is frustrating. It is frustrating for them - to whom we look childish or crazy - and to us, who so long for them to see, feel and KNOW what is absolutely real to us.

That said, what do you do? Do you engage in heated debates? Do you walk away? Atheism isn't a matter of the "head," it is a matter of the heart. Arrogance (which they will tend to accuse you of anyway for daring to believe faith is not unscientific), anger, and insult aren't productive. Rational superiority isn't going to win the day or even just the argument. Certainly not the soul. This doesn't mean don't plant seed. Give the reasons for the faith that you have. Be patient. Be kind.  If you genuinely care, you must share the gospel. Hammering and pounding don't make seeds grow.  God does.  Plant or water, whichever job God has chosen you for and then continue to be salt and light. 

Salt gives even tasteless things flavor.  Here's an interesting tidbit about salt:  salt ions hone in on bitter compounds, suppressing them while enhancing sweetness. Chemical wizardry happens when you use salt:  salt dispels bitterness, intensifies sweetness.  When our Lord told us to be "salt" in this world, He was telling us to use this ability to diminish that bitter and bring out the sweet.  Matthew 5:13 tells us that we are the salt of the earth.  We need to go be salty today...the right way. 


Hebrews 6:4-5 (NIV) For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

1 Peter 2:3
if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.


Psalm 119:103
How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Jeremiah 15:16
Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.

Ezekiel 3:3
He said to me, "Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you " Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.

My father was a big man...

My father was a big man
Strength in size
Strength in words
His love wrapped around me
I felt safe with the sound
Of his voice
In my life
My husband, too, was a big man
Steadfast as a rock
Steadfast in his heart
his love wrapped around me
I felt safe with the rhythm
Of his heartbeat
In my life
These are silent now
The words I need to hear don't sound
The beat of that heart has stopped
Safety is a memory
Love is a blanket that is lost

Not a tragic figure...

She didn't want
To cut a tragic figure
To have dark, care worn eyes
And a silhouette that
Spoke of sorrow
She wanted to be
Strong, brave, fearless
The one with the dancing heart
Twirling in the breeze
Curls flying
Even singing
What she didn't want
Was creeping upon her
And she fought hard
To sing, to dance
To stand firm
Against the shadows that crept
After her, swallowing
Her joy in
Big, greedy gulps

His lips were broken...

His lips were broken
Oh perhaps they moved
They kissed
They chewed
Sounds escaped
Formed into words
Words of no depth
Of heart
The lover's cord
Was disconnected
And short-circuited
So heart to mind to lips
The circuit was cut
Could it be
Spliced?
Rerouted?
She didn't know
But words feed her soul
And her soul was feeling faint
She tried the nourishment offered
Penetrating gaze
Acts of service
A hand held
She swallowed hard, appreciation
Like a liquid seeking to
Fill the empty silence
The need, the craving
Ached and burned
Hunger hurt
Growling in the
Silence, patience
While technical support looks into
The matter
Is there even a port for her to connect?
She wonders
And the world feels flat
And she feels flat
And dull and lifeless
And the air she needs to be filled
Is denied her
His lips are broken
So is she

8/31/18

Jump

Jump
Don't just stand there
leap
Dance
Let your heart speak
Don't continuously muffle
Its cries and shouts
Let it acknowledge
Ungagged
Joys and sorrows
Hopes
Possibilities
Stand there on that ledge
Frozen
And you lose
you lose
You never know
That moment of flight
...or anything else
But your own fear and
Your reluctance
To feel

10/25/18

Let's be humans together...

Let's be humans together
We will make mistakes
Fall
And skin our knees
Lose things
And find them
Say stupid things
And cry
Try to take it all back
Let's be humans, you and I
And not expect perfection
Or salvation
From each other
So we'll forgive
Let's make love
Hold hands
Kiss under stars or roofs or blankets
Face the big unknown together
Be my human, I'll be yours
Let's be human together

10/28/18

Assorted poems and pieces of poems...

There are true things
We know them to be true
But we learn the art
Of careful acknowledgement
In ways that don't pierce or grate
----
Some hearts
only open so much
Fixed volume
Limited capacity
Rigidity
Cracking, breaking
No ability or desire to expand
Boundaries clearly defined
There are other hearts
That know no such finite plane
Stretching, conforming
Open wide to accept
To accomodate
And even to pour out
When broken, they bleed
Wounds flow with pain and loss
But that love, life's blood
That ache, only serves
To extend, expand their borders
Blur the bounds
Unclosed
Unobstructed
---

It was in the drawer
Over all those
Miscellaneous items
Pens, bills, assorted
This and that
Face down
Not out
not on a dresser, a mantle
Nor even a nightstand in
A spare room
It spoke volumes
About things like
Intention, importance
Recognition and acceptance
The lack thereof
A maybe later
Not now
Lack of commitment
And I believed
Everything it said
12/22/18

----
He holds on
To things from long ago
To old things
Worn things
Things are still beautiful
And useful
With meaning and history
in his eyes
I want to be treasured
And kept
Long past my prime
Meaningful
Beautiful
And loved
------
I was numb
With thoughts of new beginnings
Baseless dreams
That lovers dream
When bodies are yearning
And "just us" high
The whole world seems full
Full of promise, portent
And then feeling creeps back
Tingling in the fingers, toes
Reality creeping up, up
Toward the heart
Toward the head
8/11/18

-------------

Shhhhh, in your eyes I see it
In your touch I feel it
Quiet, now
As we absorb each other
Mold into each other
Gather our hearts together
Joined in a rhythm
That we create
A music of our own
That fits us and only us
No past, no fears
We let them go
As this thing we are becoming
Grows
There will be a time
To shout it out, to say
That I am yours
And you are mine
Until then quietly
We can adore each other
Growing more secure day by day
In what we are building

7/29/18

--------------------

I was your number one
And now you are gone and I'm
Second or third
Or fourth
Or a by word
A nice girl
With a good heart
Valued
But no pretense
Other nouns and ideas
Are esteemed more highly
And aye, there it is
And more's the pity
Take the crumbs
Or not...