Where Does This Stuff Come From?

Who in the world first looked at a kiwi and decided to eat it? Some people even leave that fuzzy brown skin on and eat it too! It’s remarkable the things we put in our mouths. Locusts. Bubblegum. Jalapeno peppers. Squid. Cotton candy. Pork rinds. Kelp. Frog legs. The list could go on and on of bizarre looking foods!

And then we could create a list of scary things children have put in their mouths! Paperclips. Bottle caps. Dirt. Pet food. Toys. Socks. Not to mention their toes. It’s a curious aspect of human life… that we have the urge to consume, to fill ourselves by sticking stuff in our mouths. Of course, our bodies need fuel to live and move and have being… but sometimes we might wonder who came up with some of the stuff we eat.

Here’s a fun fact: in the Bible, in the Old Testament, in Exodus to be precise, when God’s people are wandering around in the wilderness and they complain about not having food to stuff in their mouths, God provides something called manna. It was a little like bread falling out of the sky. Yeah, the first Wonder Bread. But the Hebrew word means, “What is this?” They knew where the stuff came from, but they didn’t know what it was. Yet whatever it was, it kept them alive.

And then there’s the stuff that comes out of our mouths. We speak. We sing. We slander. We persuade. We teach. We reprimand. We curse. We mock. We sigh. We gurgle and coo in the presence of miniature humans. And every now and then, what comes out of our mouths can amaze even ourselves and we might wonder where this stuff comes from.

Most of us might assume that our words come right out of our brains, thinking that our heads are the command centers for communication. Yet some of the stuff that comes out of our mouths is straight from our hearts. No logical brain would ever generate stuff like, “How can I help you?” or “Let me pay for that” or “I love you”! Just too risky. Way too costly. Nonsensical. But that’s the nature of our hearts when they are operating at their best. That’s the kind of stuff that comes out of our mouths when the heart bypasses the brain which might attempt to censor the potentially dangerous communication.

Our hearts are the centers for all the goodness humans are capable of such as compassion and kindness, joy and forgiveness, altruism and generosity. The next time we risk any of that stuff, we may rest assured. We know where it comes from!

Concocted by Rev. Rebecca Taylor without a drop of AI