The Life Lesson I Learned From a Food Blog

I am not a dedicated follower of food blogs. I'll pop in every now and then, especially if I know the people who write them or if I happen to be looking for a recipe. But it's not something I gravitate to naturally.

The other day I happened to stumble upon a fairly popular food blog, The Wicked Noodle. I wasn't looking for anything in particular but since the name intrigued me and I like noodles, I decided to see what it was all about. Little did I know that after reading one of the blog entries, I would find myself in tears and truly inspired.

The post was entitled, One Simple Thing That's Changing My Life. There was something about the way it was written that connected to my soul. Her honesty and genuineness made me realize how important it is to share our struggles with each other. It's easy to see the success of others and assume they must have wonderfully easy lives. I know how tempting it is for me to highlight the strengths of others (especially when they appear to have it all together) while minimizing my own.

Kristy's post reminded me that we all struggle in our life journey. We all make mistakes. We all doubt ourselves more than we should. We all long for meaning and purpose. We all want to make dents of influence in our world. Why not help each other by sharing honestly about the joys and struggles that we encounter along the way? This type of dialogue can be a tremendously powerful way of infusing hope into someones life.

I love the way Kristy has integrated this life principle into her food blog. She summarizes it beautifully here as she describes why she blogs:

"I blog for hope. I blog for meaning and joy and friendship and love. The recipes? The recipes are just a bonus. I blog because I’m grateful for my life and I’m grateful for you, my readers who make my day brighter with every interaction. I blog so that I can share these personal thoughts and doubts and experiences and achievements with you on the off chance that maybe you’ve been there, too. You, the one reading my words right now, who may be one of my dearest friends or you may be someone I’ve yet to meet. Either way, I’m grateful for you and for this life that we’re all figuring out together."

This post reminded me of the Bible text in Hebrews that talks about Jesus understanding our weaknesses because he himself lived in a body of flesh. I love that despite our weakness, we are called to live a life of confidence, mercy and grace.

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16 (NASB)

Blessings!