A few years ago I walked into my kitchen to discover the scene above. Yes, that’s a candid shot. No staging. No digital manipulation. My cat Ebony was experiencing a feathered feast fixation. Nothing was going to distract her from the object of her desire. Frankly I’m amazed that the birds were taking it so calmly … or perhaps they were overwhelmed by Ebony’s hypnotic stare.
Don’t ask me why she was in the fruit basket (fortunately sans-fruit at the time); presumably it offered the best view. For those of you concerned about the birds’ welfare, they later entered the Budgerigar Protection Program and were relocated to the safety of my mum’s bird aviary.
Speaking of a feast fixation, I was reminded of it today as I watched this funny video “Ormie Wants Cookies” (Thanks for your tweet AT):
It’s easy to see something we want and become fixated on it. The eye plants the seed and the mind waters it. Anyone for a game of self-justification? It looks so good, I’m sure it will taste good, I want it, just one will be okay, I know I’ll love it, I really want it, I deserve it, I need it, I must have it! And we think that we won’t be satisfied until we have it in our hands … or mouth. The truth is that we probably still won’t be satisfied, even when we’ve consumed the entire contents of the cookie jar (or not, in Ormie’s case).
Christmas is almost upon us for another year, and it is easy to become fixated on the feast. So much effort goes into planning the perfect Christmas dinner, and making sure there’s enough food to feed a football team for a week. I know I’ve been guilty of over-indulgence, and I’m fairly sure I’m in pretty good company. This year I want to do things a little differently. It’s great to celebrate with family and friends, and sharing a meal is a wonderful way to do that. I’m still looking forward to sharing Christmas meals with my family. But I don’t want that to overshadow the reason for the celebration. Jesus came to earth to give us abundant life, to make a way for us to be reconciled to God. He’s the one who can give us true satisfaction. So if you’re going to fixate on anything this Christmas, the gift of Jesus’ birth is a pretty good place to start.
The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. (John 6:33 NLT)
Flourish! 