Pursuing protein

Last week was busier than I realized and, somehow, not all my paperwork got done. Again. There was nothing to do but dig in and spend the weekend getting caught up. In every record on which I've worked, my plan has included something like this:

"Dietary recall reveals a very low protein intake, likely a major factor in the failure to heal. He (or she) will have to increase the protein intake to 1 gram per kg body weight if he (or she) expects the wound to heal. Dietary preferences are extremely limited and we have reviewed options for increasing the protein intake."

A significant portion of every day is spent trying to help patients understand how important protein is to wound healing, and I am constantly surprised by how much resistance there is to adopting a healthier diet. We have tried everything from buying protein powder and distributing it to offering recipes for high protein drinks and dishes. Sometimes people embrace the change, and sometimes they don't, but every time, the choice they make affects their wound healing. 

All these recommendations about protein intake reminded me of what the writer of Hebrews wrote. It's a tough read, but one about which we need to be reminded. 

"Concerning him (Jesus) we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. (Hebrews 5:11-14 NASB)

He was saying he wanted to teach much more about Jesus but we had chosen to be such babies about the word of God, wanting to be bottle fed instead of digging for solid food, that it had made us dim witted and dull of hearing. We need to grow up, he was saying, so we can learn more about Jesus. We need to choose to change. 

Those are hard words for me to hear. Although I consider myself a serious student of Scripture, I could spend more time in study than I do. An older pastor I know once said he doesn't read anything but the Bible. I was really surprised by that, but today my penchant for fiction (especially spy novels) looks a little different. Perhaps what I need on a lazy Saturday afternoon is less fiction and more truth. 

What about you?  Is yours a milk diet or have you progressed to solid food? 

The only way to have more Jesus, the writer of Hebrews said, is to have a steady diet of truth. Put that way, change doesn't look so bad after all, does it?  

This week, dig in and see what treasures you find in Scripture. Feel free to share it here. The comment section is open. I'd love to hear what you find.