Photo: Alex Hawthorne/Unsplash

I slept at 9:30pm last night and woke at 4:30am feeling energized and ready to tick things off my to-do list. As someone who has never managed to be a morning person, waking up early has always been a monumental struggle. But it’s 6:25am now and I am ready (I think) for all the busyness of the week to come. Is this what morning people feel like all the time?! :p

On this rare, soothingly peaceful morning, I’ve been thinking about comfort food—not just physical nourishment (though that, of course, is wonderful), but also spiritual “food” that has been helping me grow and connect with God and others. It’s been a tough year, and the first half of January 2021 has still been quite the rollercoaster…. but here’s a list of things that have been speaking life into my life right now, whether it’s a lingering memory of the flavours that remind me of home, or music that’s been like balm to my frayed nerves.

What’s been nourishing for my body and soul, in no particular order:

• A hot bowl of fish soup from a Singapore coffeeshop (I miss it so!)

• Toasty grilled cheese sandwiches

• Teresa of Avila’s The Interior Castle

• Adorable dog videos (can’t stop, won’t stop)

• Israeli band Miqedem’s Adonai Ro’i

• Studying the book of Isaiah with my life group

• Sunshine, glorious sunshine

• Snowboarding—hearing only the sound of my breath and the scraping of snow

• Sarah Bessey’s piece on Lazarus and what it means to be peace-makers

• Video calls with family and friends

• Sending meals to fellow students in quarantine

• The chillest beats from Lord’s Child

• The smell of coffee being brewed

• Augustine of Hiphop’s twitter

• Piping hot baths with lavender salts

• Yoga and stretching with friends over Zoom

• Slow, unhurried walks in Pacific Spirit Park

• Reading aloud liturgies from Every Moment Holy

What are some things you would add to your list? Share them in the comments box below!

xx,
iz