Oatmeal for the Soul

I know, it's the thing your mom always made you eat for breakfast when you really wanted Cocoa Puffs. Now, it's the thing your doctor (or your spouse) is telling you to eat when you really want bacon and eggs. Oatmeal. Tan, mushy, sticky and bland. Boring.

Or is it?

I started eating oatmeal to help my cholesterol. It was creeping up, and I dislike taking medicine if I can manage my health in other ways. So,...heavy sigh...it was time to drop some pounds and hopefully, my hdl levels. Something unexpected happened, though.

My seven-year-old son started asking if he could have some, too. Eschewing waffles with syrup(!), he eyed my oatmeal one morning and requested a bowlful. My husband and I were speechless. Kids are supposed to hate this stuff, right?

We dished up a small quantity, thinking he'd take one bite and pull a face - yeech! Instead, he put a bit of butter, some sugar and some cinnamon on it and gobbled it up. Then he asked for more. And he's been having it every morning since. Amazing. The kid likes something healthy. How did that happen?

As I thought about it, I realized that part of the answer might be that the oatmeal was never presented to him as a healthy food or something that he had to eat. It just appeared in my bowl with a bit of butter and pepper and fruit and cinnamon. There was no commentary or coercion or parental wheedling involved. It was just...there. He got curious and he tried it. The fact that it is good for him is a bonus as far as he's concerned. And I am just glad he's eating it, even if he does add some sugar.

It got me thinking about how we 'do church'. We know it's good for us. It helps to center us, make us listen to and nurture our spiritual selves and resolve to do right with our lives. Then why do so many of us not like to go?

Some of us don't like to get up on Sunday morning. Some of us don't like being preached at. Some don't like the decor or the music or the people or the offering or the....., well, fill in the blank. Something we know we're supposed to like, but don't. It's boring, bland, mushy. Oatmeal for the soul.

Yum - blueberries!

Have you considered that the problem might not be the oatmeal, but what you add to it? Deconstructed, oatmeal is truly a wonderful gift. It is easy to grow. It is cheap, plentiful and filling. It is healthy and provides energy that gets you through the morning. Cooked well, it has amazing flavors: nuttiness and a bread-like quality in one little flake. It really is a kind of super-food! A foundation upon which to build a delicious meal.

Perhaps church is a bit like 'spiritual oatmeal' to some of us. Perhaps it has become a 'chore' because we were forced to 'eat' it. But just think, maybe if we add some 'toppings' we like, church could become a wonderful feast! Think about it: what if church was FUN? I don't mean a bounce-house in the sanctuary (although my seven-year-old would like that), but if you went to a church that was warm and joyous, filled with people serving its members and the community, would that make you more likely to 'eat your oatmeal'? Maybe you'd want to go to church. Maybe you'd get EXCITED about church! In Psalm 100, David tells us to:

"Worship the Lord with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs." (vs.2)

See, like oatmeal, church doesn't have to be any one particular thing. There are some requirements: prayer, teaching, sacraments, confession and assurance. But other than the things we are given in the scriptures, we are able to add 'toppings'. It really doesn't matter if the carpet is green, blue or non-existent. If we have a choir or a band. If there are flowers or not. An auditorium or a steeple. These are matters of cultural and individual choice, not salvation issues.

So if you have kind of 'given up' on church, it could be that you still haven't been to a church that was the one for you. Please don't stop searching. Keep trying until you find the mix that 'tastes' satisfying to you. So how to do that? Start with church websites. They usually have a statement of faith and a run-down of missions and programs. If the church doesn't have a website, then that tells you something, too: it could be that traditional, old-fashioned church that you might prefer over a large, noisy congregation. (Or maybe they are just waiting for someone like you to help them set up that website!) If you like big, rock-band style worship, listen to your local Christian radio station. They are usually plugged in to which churches have vibrant services.

God has a place for you to be in a body that wants and needs your gifts and talents; a place for you to grow and be challenged. A place where you are called to be for service to his people. Whether they go to church or not.

And as to the oatmeal? Well, my cholesterol is lower by eleven points and in the 'normal' range. So it has been good for me to eat my oatmeal.