There is a song I love, just because it has ice cream and chocolate in it… so I sing it now and then, and when I do, I realize that I am singing it as praise to God… here’s my take on Sarah McLachlan’s song titled “Ice Cream”, here are the lyrics first:

Your love is better than ice cream,
better than anything else that I’ve tried.
You’re love is better than ice cream,
and everyone here knows how to cry.

It’s a long way down…
It’s a long way down…
It’s a long way down to the place where we started from.

Your love is better than chocolate,
better than anything else that I’ve tried.
Your love is better than chocolate,
and everyone here knows how to fight.

It’s a long way down…
It’s a long way down…
It’s a long way down to the place where we started from…

Although Sara McLachlan probably didn’t write this song with a Christian angle, it’s praise music for me. Jesus Christ is like this for me… He’s sweeter than anything I’ve ever known, beyond the best chocolate, sweeter and more divine. And I am a chocolate hound… I mean, I feel unsteady if I know that there isn’t an ounce of it in the entire house, even if I don’t plan to eat it, just knowing that it’s in the cupboard if I want a little bite, it makes me giddy with excitement! This what God does to me… awakens me to excitement and eagerness in anticipation for what He is going to reveal to me next, through my physical enviornment, through His Word, and through His Spirit speaking to my heart.

So, back to the song… when it says “everyone here knows how to cry,” well, of course we do! We all have grief, uhnappiness, happiness and joy… and all those things are still ever more a sweet taste when you are filled with the love of Christ, as the pain isn’t so bad when you see it as loving discipline from Your Father, who is growing you (Heb 12:2-7).

When the song says “it’s a long way down to the place where we started from,” I see how far I’ve come through God’s ever present grace and love. It’s also a long way down to fall when I sin… knowing that He still paid for my unworthyness with His magnificent worth. Then when the song says “everyone here knows how to fight,” I see this as my own struggles with keeping Him at the center of my life, in every moment, in every situation… (when the kids are screaming and I turn into Momzilla, when I’m worrying or preoccupied, etc..) so many things distract me in my thoughts, that I lose the clarity of Him being in focus. When I lose the highlighted thought, to take every thought I have captive, to make it obedient to Him (2 Cor. 10:5), I am still reassured that He knows the deep desires of my heart… to try and step in tune with His love. Even though I sin and struggle at times,God’s love is STILL better than ice cream, chocolate or anything else that I’ve tried (past tense), and, will try in the future! Nothing will ever be sweeter than His love for me, nothing will be more delicious, scrumptions, and filling than being in His embrace….. just knowing that He is growing me… and allowing me to walk in His Word, and see Him all around me. The other awesome thing about Him… no calories, if anything, He has the power to make things weightless and leave your heart levetating inside your body.

Next time you eat a chocolate cookie, or a yummy morsel, remember that He is infinetly sweeter and more delectable…. Hunger for His love.
*hugs*