Oh, So Sweet
Do you know what the greatest perks about traveling is? No, it’s not the bragging rights about how many places you’ve traveled to. No, it’s not the fact that you can take a break from the chaotic lifestyle you live. No, it’s not about creating life time memories. The greatest thing about traveling is eating food.
Maybe that was a little bit of a stretch and very bias on my part (I love food, I can’t help it), but one of the greatest perks of traveling in my opinion is the opportunity to eat a variety of foods. Whenever I come back from a mission trip, family trip, vacation or even a spontaneous day trip, the thing that sticks in my mind always is the food I eat on the trip. There’s something special about going to a new place and eating the food that the locals consume on a daily basis. Your palate either thanks you or despises you for the lovely (or maybe not so lovely) _______. (Use your imagination to fill in the blank.)
One of my favorite places to visit is Seattle, Washington State. I was born in Washington State, and despite growing up in Anchorage, Alaska I have very fond memories of the food I ate when I would go and visit. One of my favorite bakeries of all times is Piroshky Piroshky at Pike Place in downtown Seattle. By far the greatest bread they have there is the Smoked Salmon Pate Piroshky, filled with cream cheese, a dash of dill and onions. (If you’re wondering, a Piroshky is basically a hand-held pies that have either sweet or savory fillings. Yum right?) I remember a time when I went to Seattle with my father and on a cold winter day, while the rain was pouring all around, I remember eating this Smoked Salmon Pate. The warm and freshly baked bread as it warmed my cold hands. Taking the first bite and seeing the steam arise from the inside of the plump piroshky, the aroma of fresh pink smoked salmon, mixed with the smooth cream cheese, dill and onion paste. Words don’t do justice in how amazing and delicious these hand-held pies are. These are a game changer. If you ever visit the Seattle area, I beg you to go and try it. You won’t regret it.
When I went to International KAYAMM in 2015 to the Philippines, I had the chance to finally eat some ‘real’ mangoes. Now let me tell you, I was never a huge fan of mangoes until I went to the Philippines. Let me describe to you my personal experience: When you cut the mango, it has this nice bright orange and yellow flesh that hides under the outer layer of skin. As you hold the mango and bring it up to your mouth for a bite, you can smell the sweet aroma of the mango filling your nose. When you finally take the first bite, the juices start running down your hands, and the fibers of the mango flesh get stuck in your teeth. As you close your eyes and savor the oh so sweet, juicy flesh of the mango... Okay, maybe you’re salivating now. Mangoes from the Philippines changed my life. (Like literally, I even named my kitten Mango)
Maybe after all of that, you’ve decided to go look what inside your fridge, or maybe you’re looking through your photo album of all the delicious food you’ve ever eaten. Let me tell you my point, and it’s quite simple. Whenever I experience a food that is so delicious, one of the first things I want to do is to have other people try it as well. When something is so good, when something is so delicious, I don’t want to keep that for myself, I want to share that with all my friends. Post that to my Instagram, Snapchat, etc. When the food is life changing, I mean, of course you would want to share it with everyone!
When the Psalmist says the “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8a), it’s almost as if he’s saying, “Dude, the Lord has been so so good to me, why don’t you guys come try it for yourself? I promise you it’ll be amazing!” The crazy thing about God’s love is exactly that. When you truly experience God’s love, it radically changes your life forever. When we experience the sweet love of God in our loves, there’s no stopping you from wanting to share that with those around you. Just as discovering the delicious mango is radically life changing, so is discovering the ‘oh so sweet’ love of God. So I invite you, ‘to taste and see that the Lord is good.’ And maybe soon after you try it for yourself, you’ll also go around telling people, “Come, taste and see that the Lord is soooooo good.”
Timothy Yun is currently an Associate Pastor at Glendale Korean Church in Southern California.