How far would you travel for a good meal? How much would you pay, and what you would you be prepared to suffer just to eat well? I travel frequently with work, but I don’t always get to eat well. Sometimes I don’t get to eat at all, which is one of the downsides of life on the road. Missing meals is about as wise as missing sleep, but many of us do it all in the name of work.
IMG_0102Last year while working in Ireland I was taken to a roadside pub by the name of An Poitin Still. Don’t let the roadside description put you off. This is a pub that serves seriously good food. The first time I ate at the Poitin Still, free entertainment was provided as various locals gathered with their instruments and had a session while knocking back pints of Guinness.
IMG_0455I got the opportunity to eat at the Poitin Still again a couple of weeks ago. The downside was staying in a nearby hotel with views of an elevated section of the road between Dublin and Naas. The steak on a stone made it all worthwhile. The next night I also dined well in a pub of extreme character just outside Dundalk and close to the border with Northern Ireland. Good food two days in a row!
IMG_1153We crossed the border the next day. After work David, one of the managers from the location I had visited, offered me a lift to Belfast City Airport. I was surprised to find a Bible in the pocket of the passenger door of his car. David told me that he had carried a Bible with him all his working life. In his earlier career David served as a police officer during a thirty-year period in Northern Ireland’s history known as the Troubles. Over 3,500 people were killed during the Troubles, including three hundred police officers. It was during such times that David often knew great hunger for God. He told me that he identified quiet places where he could park safely and spend precious minutes in prayer and feeding on God’s word. David’s testimony deeply challenged me about not forgetting to feed spiritually, and the need for quiet spaces in my daily routine just to be still before God. Beats steak on a stone any day!

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.

They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. (Psalm 1:1-3 NLT)