Salty Bread of Life Sunday

Welcome to the Bread of Life Section of my blog. It's Sunday morning love. If you have any questions as to why I am talking about spiritual stuff...it's because the larger part of my creative soul increases when I study the gospel. I need to share it with my friends. If you are not religious, you don't have to read on...I still love you. I hope you will come back again...

In my teenage years, I was making dinner for my family. I often did. My mother worked full time and the responsibility regularly fell on me. One particular evening, I had made pizza from scratch using a trusted family recipe. My brother is a cartoon character... personified. He now teaches art on the university level so I will henceforth refer to him as...The Professor. As a teen, that name would have been said with much sarcasm. Now it's spoken in awe of his sheer awesomeness. Funny how that perspective shifts as an adult. At any rate, The Professor, dove into the pizza. It was a massive Mt. Fuji pile.. several slices on his plate. After the blessing (which always seemed eternal when waiting for dinner) he shoved a huge cheesy wad into him mouth. Almost immediately that wad was spit out on his plate and a look of utter shame and disgust burned my tender heart. What was wrong? I had misread the recipe and used an inordinate amount of sugar in the crust. It would have been a really good joke, had I not wanted to eat the pizza myself!

I was, in my teenage girl hormonal state, completely rejected. "Like totally"...

I have often thought of that experience. Not for the obvious drama of the event or the vision of my brother spewing out pizza. I think of the mistake that could have easily been avoided had I read the directions carefully.

Which brings me to the Salt. An ingredient I missed entirely on that pizza. Good salt, rock salt or sea salt supplies not only the flavor enhancement for food but also, nutrients. A man I love and admire, Elder James E. Faust said, "A nutrient furnishes nourishment that promotes growth and healing both in animals and humans. Grandfather’s cattle craved the nutrients in the rock salt, but human beings need something more. They need to be replenished spiritually because “life is more than meat”1 and “there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.”2 The human spirit needs love. It also needs to be “nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine.”3
How does this apply to my pizza fiasco? I'm not sure, except I do know that my brother wasn't nourished. I know I never want to miss the opportunity to nourish the soul of anyone...ever. Salt is meant to be a flavor enhancer, but it also is used to preserve or save food. If I am supposed to be one of the salt of the earth, then a good part of my efforts ought to go toward thinking of my brothers...and sisters. My fellow men. I should be someone who adds flavor and joy to other's lives. Salt is also used to clean and sterilize things. It's an amazing substance. If I am to be one of the salt of the earth, ought I think of and carry out ways heal the hearts of man? I ought to lead them to the perfect Healer. The Master Himself. That being said, I am so grateful for the love my Jesus gives. He is happy to take whatever part of my heart I offer Him. I should never hold any pieces back. He won't spit it out or look at me in shame and disgust. He is, I'm sure, more than happy to love me just because I am me. I don't have to qualify for that love. He gives it freely. So should I.

This week, I encourage everyone to love more deeply, give more freely, heal more gently, and use more "eternal " salt.

Lest you feel inadequate for the tasks which lie ahead, I remind you of another of the Apostle Paul’s stirring statements from which we might draw courage: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”13

There you go. Have courage to use salt.
Use it. Become it.