
Chew Your Food

One thing I remember about my grandmother was that she always chewed her food well. She would be the last one still eating not because she talked too much but because she chewed her food throughly. I did not inherit this trait from her. For as long as I can remember, I have been a fast eater. I know I should chew longer. As I taught anatomy, I learned how it aids my digestion to chew my food thoroughly. But somehow I am too often in a hurry.
This past month, I read Eat Dirt by Josh Axe. The book talked about Leaky Gut Syndrome and how it could be the cause of many of the health problems affecting people today. In the book, Dr. Axe gave the different ways people experience leaky gut and offered suggestions on how to go about healing this leaky gut. One minor thing that he advocated was chewing our food better and more thoroughly. Besides improving our digestion, chewing our food allows us to savor the taste of the food, and we end up eating less overall. So I decided to start chewing my food better. Why not? It seemed like an easy enough thing to start. He was right! The food did taste better. My stomach no longer felt upset soon after I ate because my food was digesting better. I could probably chew my food even more thoroughly, but for now, I am making progress.
Chewing my food allows me to enjoy the food that I am eating. It makes me slow down and focus on the moment. I also find myself listening better to those at the table with me since I have food in my mouth longer making me less tempted to talk too much.
Chewing my food allows me to savor and enjoy as well as aids the digestion of my food. In the same way, I am finding that I need to chew on God’s word. I need to take time to savor and enjoy. By spending more time chewing, I am able to digest more thoroughly or understand more deeply what His word says.
I don’t know about you, but I often have a tendency to rush through my time with God. Read a chapter, pray, maybe journal a little bit, and I am done. What would happen if I took the time to chew on the word rather then just swallowing it?
When we eat, we sometimes eat for the nutrition and energy. Other times we eat to savor and enjoy. As I read over and chew on a passage, I find it easier to slow down and just savor. How often we go to the word of God for quick fix, for the nutrition we need. How different we (I) would be if we (I) took the time to chew on, savor, and simply delight in the word of our Lord and Savior.
I have been trying to do that more this year-to chew on the word. Here are a few ways that I chew on the word more thoroughly.
1. Memorization
For this, I use an app called Fighter Verse that is put out by Desiring God.

2. With Art

