Nothing jolts a memory quite like a familiar smell, taste, or flavor. I was transported back in time today while adding eggs to a recipe. Yes, eggs! My favorite childhood breakfast was my mom’s eggs-over-easy. I can still hear the butter sizzling on the hot skillet, the crack of the eggs, Mom’s sweet voice rousing me from sleep. After one quick flip, my egg was ready, the yolk remaining delectably runny, providing an ideal accompaniment for toast-dipping. I savored every bite, soaking up as much of that soft and jiggly delicacy as possible. But what always followed was predictable, Cathy, eat the white part, it’s good for you. Ewwww, no, that’s just gross! No flavor at all, and it felt funny in this young girl’s mouth. And to this day, I find egg whites just plain bland and unsavory, although I have matured enough to eat them-after smothering them with salt or ketchup or anything. Probably not an ideal healthy choice, but oh, well…
So what brought eggs into my aging mind today? The suffering servant Job did. The poor man is in the throes of grief and despair, trying to put into words what is playing out in his heart and soul. He plunges into a tirade of metaphors, searching for some analogy to paint a clear picture to explain his plight, the intense grief that he bears within him. First, his calamity is “heavier than the sand of the sea,” too difficult to bear, profound, taxing all of his strength and endurance. Then, the “arrows of the Almighty” are within him, piercing through his heart with judgment from the God he loves and serves, and he doesn’t understand why. But lastly, Job compares his existence to egg whites, “…unsavory…is there any taste in the white of an egg?” In Job’s mind, his life had become tasteless, bland, devoid of any pleasure. Anyone who has been there understands his plight completely.
When life weighs heavily on us, our existence can become as that unsalted, unsavory egg white. We move from day to day, going through the forced motions, all while we are slowly drying up inside. Depression is a powerful emotion, but it cannot coexist with praise. If you find yourself in that lonely, dry spot today, ask God to put “a new song” on your lips. Find a reason to praise, and add some salt to that egg!
Psalm 40:1,3 I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry…And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
Lord, when life becomes stale and bland, help me to sing and praise, exalting You! Help me to see past my circumstances and bow in worship and thanksgiving to the One Who loves me beyond measure.