Appetite

It is quite often that our meal preparation is serenaded by shrill cries of frustration coming from the high chair. I try and tell my child that good food is coming if he can just be patient, but how do you communicate that fact to a seventeen month old child? And as my blood pressure rises, it becomes increasingly tempting to open a jar of gelatinous meat tubes and throw some Kicks on his tray. It may not be so healthy, but it would eliminate the tantrum... for a while. I feel I am at the mercy of my son's stomach.

Of course, I'm often at the mercy of my own. How many times do I make poor choices in nutrition because I prefer to immediately satisfy my hunger pains? Perhaps if the vending machines at work were equipped with fruits and vegetables. But then again, I have forgone a banana because "I didn't feel like peeling it," even though the Snickers I ate had to be suspiciously similarly prepared.

I wish my inclination towards immediate gratification stopped there. However, I often find myself pitching a fit in the high chair of prayer, demanding speedy solutions to my problems. I'm sure my Heavenly Father looks down on me and says, "I have a better way for you if you will just be patient."

Patience. I'm not sure I have time for that.