Suckers are for Savoring

So, there's a confession I need to make: I don't eat suckers the right way. I mean, I eat dum-dums in one bite (dum-dums take me one bite). I wouldn't know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie-pop because I normally eat them in about five seconds, give or take (normally+about+give/take seems repetitive).

You see, I tend to be impatient. And I'm not just impatient with suckers. Most of my meals are gone almost as quickly as they're cooled down enough to eat. Nor is it simply an issue with food. My spending money has always burnt a significant hole through my pockets. When I find a show I enjoy watching, I'll race through its episodes in a matter of days. Even in various stages of life, I've often longed to just get to the next step, rashly ignoring the blessings of those times. And so on. 

Beyond mere impatience, though, I think that this tendency points to a deeper struggle; a struggle to savor the good gifts that God has given me. God's displays his wondrous grace through abundant gifts. Yet I take them for granted. I use them up like they're cheap and common. I act as if I'm entitled to the undeserved blessings God gives me each day.

I don't savor these gifts. I don't savor them because I don't value them; because I don't enjoy them like God has intended me to. And that's the point of a sucker, really, isn't it? To savor. To let your taste buds light up with its sweetness until it's gone. To let it slowly melt in your mouth because you don't want its taste to be gone too quickly.

Lord, help me to value the good gifts that You have freely given me by teaching me this lesson: suckers are for savoring,