What Do You Crave?

~ By Jessica Abe ~

I dragged myself out of bed this rainy morning wishing I had just one more hour of sleep before I had to start my day. Knowing that precious added hour of sleep was not in the forecast, I found myself with an intense craving for a lusciously warm Caramel Macchiato. I envisioned its creamy whipped topping, drizzled with gooey buttery caramel. It was just the early morning caffeine pick-me-up I needed to get on with the day. What do you crave? Do you crave brownies when you’re stressed about that exam you have the next morning? Or do you ever get a hankering for a huge bowl of popcorn with extra butter even at times when you are simply happy about life? You may have noticed McDonald’s simple but effective slogan, CRAVING, for their new line of chicken sandwiches. Certainly we all have cravings, whether it is for food or other need satisfying things such as companionship or excitement. But for many people food has made an intrinsic connection with emotion and is often used as a means for dealing with those emotions. In fact, I remember as a child that an ice-cream cone would often suppress my feeling of disappointment when something didn’t go my way. I suppose the real question to ponder is, is craving a bad thing?

In June of this year CrossRoads and WOW hosted the Sophia Logos Women’s Conference. The success of this conference was highlighted with many spiritually impactful speakers, and graced by the ardent worship music of Amanda Falk. Key speaker Lysa Terkeurst, New York Times bestselling author, president of Proverbs 31 Ministries and married mom of five, inspired women to make their walk with God an "invigorating journey." While Lysa’s stories carried us through her life story and a spectrum of emotions she encouraged women to "stop unhealthy cycles of striving and to learn to love who they are."

During a break at the conference, Lysa was available for a book signing. Excited, I quickly purchased her New York Times best selling book, Made To Crave: Satisfying Your Greatest Desires With God, Not Food. Lysa signed "Live Loved" on the inside cover of my book and from that page on I couldn’t put the book down. In this book, Lysa uses humour and the unrefined truth to take readers through her painful quest to conquer her dependency on food for comfort. She writes about her experience saying "This wasn’t really about the scale or what clothing size I was; it was about the battle that raged in my heart." Lysa describes how her passion for food was a road block to having complete reliance on God. Through searching God’s word, Lysa discovers and explains that "We were made to crave, long for, want greatly, desire eagerly, and beg for God. Only God." Lysa encourages her audience to use the wisdom of God that leads to victory, to replace old habits and thinking that often lead to letdown.

Lysa Terkeurst’s book, Made to Crave, encourages women to rely completely on Christ through all trials and struggles in life, including weight loss or weight management. She tackles the reality of how emotional eating can replace God’s role in satisfying our needs. Lysa’s book, alongside the Bible, is a helpful tool in discovering how God wants us to value food and our health. Made to Crave is a must read for anyone who wants to reach healthy lifestyle goals while growing closer to our Father in the process.