CHICKEN FRIED STEAK AND TOTS

Friday night is the night Jimmy and I like to eat out if his day hasn't been too hard. It also depends on what type of lunch he had that day. Last night was no different. He had a late lunch out at the new Marriott Hotel where the new TPC course is here in SA. Therefore, he only wanted to eat "light", as he explained it. Jimmy's "light" consists of a large burger of some sort with tots or fries or onion rings and a soda. For me...that's a rather "heavy" meal. But...a "light" dinner was what his meal of choice was last night.

Jimmy and Clark LOVE the Longhorn Cafe here in SA. It is a hole in the wall burger place right around the corner. Very trashy looking but known and loved by all. Paper towels on the tables for napkins, booths without cushions, plastic dinnerware, etc., AND everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) is fried! Of course, I only had an egg sandwich for lunch so I decided that nothing would do unless I had a chicken fried steak sandwich and shared Jimmy's tots with him. Yes, it was heavy...and I really wanted to eat light...but who can turn down a WONDERFUL chicken fried steak sandwich, deep fried with tots on the side? YUM! Of course, I HAD to have that root beer on the side to boot!

Well, by the time we got home...I stomach looked like a loggers. And I was nauseated all night because I ate so much. I didn't finish my complete sandwich or even half the tots. But, the way it filled me up was unbelievable. I even had to get up in the middle of the night to take a nausea pill (thank you mom for those wonderful "gold" (i.e. expensive ones) you passed on to me. I still feel the affects this morning. Man, I told Jimmy that we couldn't eat at Longhorn any more. Jimmy acknowledged that our stomachs were not what they were 20 years ago. I didn't need to hear that! In fact, he could have gone all day without saying that! I hope his golf game sucks today for saying that. Age is an inappropriate subject when one is feeling bad. There is just something seriously wrong with it.

As I thought about how good this really bad, greasy sandwich is for us, and how bad those really wonderful greasy tots were for me, it made me think about other things in life. How often we love those things that in reality, aren't good at all for us. Yes, we all have heard the saying..."it's not good unless it's really bad for you." What about other things in life? For instance, gossip (it's bad, but fun and often uncontrollable once we start), spending money we don't have (we use it to console our emotions, yet it doesn't get to the root of the problem or fix anything), bullying a service person to get our way (yet we really only make a fool of ourselves when it wasn't the service person's fault at all - they were only doing their job), constantly demand to be the center of attention (when others may need our attention because they are going through a difficult time - it's not all about us). We like or participate in lots of things to satisfy ourselves, our wants, our desires, or to fulfill some deep seeded need when really, what we do or say is not good for us at all. It is just like that huge fried steak sandwich. I loved it, was hungry and wanted it to fill my empty stomach. Yet when I got it, it made me sick I had so much. Yes, I must be careful for the things I ask for, the things I demand, the things I MUST do are participate in that seem FUN or make me HAPPY. I must be careful that they are what God has planned for me or that they are not things that would hurt me or another. Sometimes the things we want the most are the very things that are not good for us - the very thing that tempts us and the very thing God is telling us is bad for us.

So today, I am thankful for my chicken fried steak and tots last night. Not because they were so good, but because they made me feel bad. Yes, you heard right...because they made me feel bad. They showed me to be careful and wise in my choices. Careful and wise in the things I participate in or ask for. Be sure I ask God what HE has planned for me or what He would have me do in a situation. Be sure to ask HIM to fill my needs or those hurting or hungry places in my life. YUM...What would God have me order next?