The mornings are frosty and cool. The face feels the stinging of winter’s air. Heavy jackets and stocking caps. Soup simmering on the stove. And at the first bite, the body begins to warm. 

I am not a winter girl but there is one thing I do like and appreciate about the winter…soup! Soup of any and every kind. Creamy soup, vegetable soup, chunky chilis, soup in bread bowls soup in plastic bowls. Presentation doesn’t matter…just the soup. 

Aren’t our lives kind of like soup…like chili? Our body, our skin, hair, shape and size are like the bowl. Ultimately it does not matter very much. Ultimately the soup is delivered and the consumer generally cares more about the contents than the shell. God cares more about our hearts than our shell. God appreciates a good tasting soup – a good heart over a pretty bowl. 

The chili has many parts. The tomato broth holds everything together. Without the broth, there would only be a bunch of chunks in a bowl. God is our tomato broth in our hearts. He holds it all together. 

The meat gives substanence. God’s Word in our hearts is the meat. The Word nourished us and gives us the “calories” we need to keep going, keep working, keep striving. 

The seasoning brings flavor and character to the chili. Likewise our friends and family give our lives, our hearts spice, flavor. They give us laughter and sometimes tears. They enhance what is already in our hearts…whether good or bad. 

The vegetables and beans give chili color and varity. In every life, there are experiences whether joyful or adversity. Our lives, our hearts need the veggies and beans to give us a beauty we truly cannot understand.

The next time you sit down to a bowl of chili remember every part. Remember the importance of all aspects of the chili. Remember how valuable important every part is…from the broth to the seasonings. Chili would not be chili with a missing part. 

 

Romans 8:28  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. ESV

1 Corinthians 12:18-22 18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” 22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. NLT

Ecclesiastes 3:10-11  I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. NKJV