Solid Food

Five months have gone by since the birth of our precious granddaughter.
Five months of growing and changing.
Five months of new discoveries and skills.
Five months of hugs and cuddles.

My sweet granddaughter has begun to eat cereal.
I remember the days of introducing solid food to my children.
I remember all the instructions that, as a new mother, I took to heart.
I followed our doctor’s guidelines as to how to introduce each new food, one at a time.

It was time for my granddaughter to begin eating cereal.
Rolling over, reaching for things, beginning to sit up on her own takes a lot of energy.
She was hungry.
Solid food was suggested and tried.

In the days of the iPhone, with its amazing camera, taking a video is quite easy.
We were blessed as a family to see a short video of her eating her cereal.
It took a little getting used to, since eating solid foods is different from sucking.
She seemed to love the taste and the consistency of the food in her mouth.

She got it down in no time.
I watched her little mouth open like a tiny bird waiting for food.
She saw the spoon coming towards her; she watched it intently.
Just as it came close to her, she opened her mouth wide.

The video made me smile.
I will have my sweet granddaughter over night.
I cannot wait to be able to feed her just like I fed her mommy so many years ago.
I cannot wait to see her little mouth open as I bring the spoon to her.

It is suggested that additional foods are added one at a time.
Adding food slowly will allow my daughter to see if there is any reaction to a certain food.
I remember being told to add fruits first and then vegetables.
Today, all these years later, there does not seem to be a strict regimen to follow.

My daughter is making her own baby food.
She tries to stay as natural as she can with the food she serves.
She prepared baby food one afternoon while my granddaughter napped.
Each serving was placed in little squares and put in the freezer.

When frozen, she was able to place each little square in a zip lock bag to use as needed.
My daughter decided to try vegetables first, since they are not as sweet as fruit.
She did not want the sweetness of the fruit to be her first food taste after having cereal.
A video came this morning.

I read the caption under the video.
And we tried butternut squash for the first time today.
Her reaction was priceless.
I clicked on the arrow and began to watch.

My granddaughter’s little mouth opened wide as the spoon came close to her.
Some of the orange butternut squash went into her mouth.
I watched her face as she seemed to be thinking about this new taste.
I watched her face twist and grimace as she did a little shudder.

I laughed as I stood in my kitchen.
She did not like the taste of the butternut squash.
That was quite obvious.
She still opened her mouth for subsequent tastes, but the enthusiasm was gone.

You don’t like it very much, do you?
I’m sorry.
We’re going to keep trying it, though.
OK?

In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:12-14)

We all started with milk.
Whether we were bottle fed or breast fed, our nourishment came in liquid form.
We were not ready for solid food.
Our little digestive systems could not handle solid food in those early months.

As we grew, we needed more nourishment.
We did not give up our milk and would not give it up for some time.
However, our palettes were expanding to include other tastes.
Our ability to handle different consistencies of foods comes with maturity.

It is the same with our spiritual life.
When we begin to read God’s Word, there is much we do not understand.
We are in the milk phase of our spiritual journey.
As we grow and mature, we are able to handle solid food.

We are able to digest spiritual truths.
Some of God’s Word goes down easy; we enjoy the taste.
Some of God’s Word is harder for us to digest.
We may twist our face and grimace and even shudder at the truth that hits our heart.

We cannot be on a steady diet of milk in our spiritual journey.
Our faith has to stretch and mature with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Solid food is for the mature.
We cannot stay infants forever in our walk with God.

I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. (Psalm 81:10)

Jesus is the Word made flesh.
Jesus, present at creation with the Father and the Spirit, spoke the world into existence.
We must take in the nourishment of God’s Word in order for us to grow.
We must feed on Jesus.

Open up your mouth like a hungry little bird.
God will fill it with His Word.
Digest it; allow God’s Word to nourish you.
Only then will you grow in wisdom.

Milk is fine for a while.
We must grow and mature so that we are ready for solid food.
God’s Word is for you to feed on.
Open your mouth and God will fill it.

2 responses to “Solid Food”

1. Our granddaughters are having their “firsts ” at the same time and I so enjoy hearing about yours! I also appreciate the spiritual application you are able to make.

   Reply

   • Oh, Paula, how wonderful!
     It is exciting to experience all the firsts again, isn’t it?
     Enjoy your precious granddaughter.
     Gina

     Reply