I've been thinking about Diet Coke a lot this week. I don't know why, but Diet Coke, for me, symbolizes something far deeper than a fountain drink.
I was sitting with my wife last week on a date. In this season of life, we haven't had a whole lot of time to take dates together, and honestly, we haven't really had the financial bandwidth either. We're building, we're growing, and the Lord's refining us in a lot of areas of our life.
With that, we've had to be really creative with the time that we spend together because a lot of our dates are stay-at-home dates. They revolve around Yahtzee or Indian food on the couch.
Last week we got to go on a date, and we were sitting in a movie; one that we actually ended up leaving halfway through. It's funny how that's changed in our lives: we've become very sensitive to things in movies that are unpleasing to the Lord.
As I sat down in the recliner to watch the movie, a Diet Coke at my right hand, I exhaled. And I noticed something about Diet Cokes: they come along in environments that provide an exhale.
As silly as it sounds, a Costco hot dog and a Diet Coke is an exhale.
We're in a time of our life right now where I don't get a lot of exhales, but I need to start working in more Diet Cokes.
Something for you to think about: what is symbolic of an exhale in your life?
Bonus Section
Jes and I went and saw The Odyssey, and we left halfway through. I was really excited to see it based on the recommendations of a lot of people, but the final straw, despite the child sacrifice, witchcraft, incantations, and blood sacrifice, was the necromancy for me. He raises his former army from the dead and has a conversation.
My sensitivity to things that we allow into our eyes and ears, which are gates into our soul, has increased substantially. My Diet Coke moment quickly turned into an anxious “Let me go outside and process this for a second” moment.
The Holy Spirit convicted me of something in that quick trip to refill my soda pop. Never would I ever let my children watch these things for the sake of protecting their spirit, why is it safe for me to watch?
We actually actively withhold certain things from them, especially around Halloween, that have to do with death, necromancy, sacrifice, and child sacrifice. I'd somehow rationalized it being okay for my spirit.
These are my convictions. Just something for you to chew on.