Death by Protein-Meat Meat & More Meat


The brunch menu at a trendy Houston Bistro read: Pete’s Colorado Omelet: Grilled Steak, Italian sausage, chorizo. ground chuck, bacon, bell peppers, onions and cheddar cheese — $13.95
The entree description appealed to the carnivorous caveman in me that Sunday afternoon: meat, meat and more meat. Sigh. What a terrible disappointment. Pete’s omelet totally lacked meat. Maybe I should have complained and been more like the Hebrew people who griped about their meals - they whined how hard they felt things were for them. The people of God were being instructed by Moses, but they are being led by God Himself. And still they grumbled, about life in the wilderness, where their RV camping lifestyle had lost it's luster. 
Their Jewish quibbling sounded like this: "Our appetites have dried up. All we ever have to look at is manna, manna manna..." The complaints of the thankless camper’s came up ... God heard them say: "If only someone would give us meat to eat! we were content back in Egypt." Seriously, you would rather be enslaved, again, in Egypt vs being free to follow the God of Eternity? This is where the story gets really cool. The Eternal One blew a wind carrying quails in from around the sea and letting them drop all around the camp. There were quails as far as the eye could see. Finally, no one (of the 600,000 Hebrews) had fewer than 60 bushels of fleshy birds. Every single day for an entire month they ate meat, meat, and more meat. Were the children of God satisfied now? Hardly. Truth be told, no one really likes a complainer. Nothing is ever good enough for them. They would rather focus on problems and ignore solutions. 
How do you stop the cycle of complaining? What's the best way to live with or deal with a complainer? Practice Dayenu = roughly meaning: it would have been enough. This traditional up-beat Passover song is over one thousand years old. The song is about wisdom and being grateful to God for all of the gifts he has given. Part of it goes like this:
🎶 If He had supplied our needs in the desert for forty years; and had not fed us manna, Dayenu, it would have been enough…
🎶 If He had fed us manna, and had not given us Shabbat, Dayenu, it would have been enough…
Enough. So even though my meal was a bust, the coffee was good; I shared a meal with my lovely wife and a terrific couple.  And, I had the resources for Sunday brunch on a gorgeous afternoon - I suppose that should be enough...#pkes