Cherry Garcia Christianity

I know this post is going to make some of you laugh and think that I have spent too much time in my textbooks, but there is truth in this. And I like it when God speaks to me through strange things. lol

Cherry Garcia. A Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor. This is one of my greatest pleasures in life. I mean- I am in a splendid world while eating this stuff. As I was enjoying some tonight, I thought about how I was introduced to Cherry Garcia. I was at the beach with my immediate family and my aunt. This was in June 2010. We went to the grocery store to stock up for our week there. We walked down the ice cream isle. I grabbed a personal size of the Skinny Cow Dulce de Leche ice cream. It's only 100 calories. I was right in the middle of P90X so I was not about to waste calories on non-diet ice cream. I wanted the perk of eating ice cream with as little cost as possible. My aunt grabbed a bucket of Cherry Garcia and rambled about how it was the best thing in the world.

Anyway, a couple of nights later, we decide to treat ourselves to our ice cream. I begin eating my calorie-cheap treat. It's not the most delicious thing I have ever put in my mouth, but its sweet and its 100 calories. Meanwhile my aunt is in her happy place with Cherry Garcia. She asks me to try it. I have never tasted it before, and it's only one taste. What's the danger in that?

My perspective quickly changed. Cherry Garcia is worth every calorie. Poor Skinny Cow and its conspicuous Splenda flavoring got thrown in the trash. I have never been the same :)

This is what happened to me with Jesus. I lived a good portion of my life so far seeking the "perks" of Christianity without paying the price. I went to church and youth group events. I followed most of the spoken and unspoken rules of the "Christian walk." I acknowledged God as God. I said Christ was my Savior. I read the Bible occasionally. I was a good girl. But I never laid my heart prostrate before a holy God. That was intimidating and potentially costly.

Then I tasted Christ. I had one encounter with Him that changed me forever. Just one accepted invitation to open up to Him. I thought it would be no big deal to really experience him. I was wrong again. Cheap Christianity is indeed cheap. I'm no longer interested. I desire to know Him more than anything. I want Him to be more real to me than the person standing next to me. I want to live the life He has planned for me. I want to be completely satisfied in Him every moment of my life. I want to seek Him with unnerving intensity for the rest of my life. I want to know and do what he has for me. I love Him, but I want to love Him so much more. I cannot go back to cheap Christianity. I need the real thing. I have been wounded in this lifestyle. He has led me to walk in some terrifying situations. But He is my greatest joy, and He is worth everything.