A Little Wine For Your Stomachs’ Sake.

A Little Wine For Your Stomachs’ Sake.
by Dick Hunt, June 26th, 2011.

For the past few months I have been noticing that I need to be more deliberate as to what I should eat in the latter end of each day.  I have cut back on dark meat, condiments etc.  and have refrained from eating very late.  Still, last evening I had a touch of indigestion.  As I was reading after supper, my son Rob, who stays with me when he is in Vancouver in his search for work, asked me if I would like a little of his home made red wine. I said I would and he trotted out a small glass for me.  It was delicious, made from red grapes.

Rob was in his bedroom  on the phone and I was sipping my wine, reading and burping a bit. After a  while, I stopped reading, thought something good had happened, quite unrelated to what  I had read, and realized that all the little burps of indigestion had disappeared.  That was a new experience, as I had been in the habit of dealing with the problem by sipping a small glass of water with Apple Cider Vinegar in it to relieve the discomfort.  The taste of that is not pleasant.  Sometimes I have needed to use that two, even three times of an evening. Rob’s wine solved the problem in a short time, was pleasant to drink and I am grateful.

My mind went to a passage of Scripture which makes mention of a similar matter.  In 1 Timothy 5:23 we read from the pen of St. Paul an instruction to his protege Timothy, that he should ‘stop drinking only water and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses’ .  Note that Paul said a little wine.  (New International Version).  Timothy was a young man upon whom a heavy burden of responsibility had been placed in his oversight of some important areas of the Church founded largely by the work and mission of St. Paul.  No doubt part of the burden was due to the stress of hard work and the youth of Timothy. Thank you Rob.  Thank you St. Paul and Timothy.