Vitamins on an Empty Stomach

                So one morning as I waited impatiently (well, hungrily, to be more accurate) for my bagel to toast, I discovered a massive bottle of daily multivitamins in one of the kitchen cupboards.  I thought to myself, “Self, as a college student living on limited funds from your stupid minimum-wage job (okay, so the job isn’t stupid, but really Utah? $7.25 an hour?), you most likely aren’t getting all of the nutrients your body needs to be healthy, so why not bulk up, eh?”  I popped the enormous gnarly gray pill in my mouth with a swig of water, then proceeded to spread cream cheese onto my bagel, quite satisfied with myself and this “healthy” decision. Not five minutes later, I sat doubled over on the kitchen floor, too nauseous to even enjoy my bagel (you KNOW something is wrong when Kaylie doesn’t want a bagel).  After throwing up water and stomach acid into the sink (don’t worry, it was the garbage disposal side) and dry heaving painfully (I apologize for this graphic description of the experience and promise this is the extent of it), I pondered the cause of this sudden wave of sickness.  Are my bagels too old? They are kind of flaky and dry, but can old bagels even make you sick? They’re not moldy.  Old cream cheese, perhaps?  I hoped not because cream cheese is expensive.  Then it hit me. Vitamin on an empty stomach! Thank you very much Vitamin, you were supposed to be good for me! And then came the secondary thought of, “Hey, ‘Don’t take vitamins on an empty stomach’. That sounds like some kind of profound axiom of life!”

                Throughout the rest of the morning until my hour-long break between classes, I considered what this could be an analogy for.  The most applicable one I decided on was, “We can’t expect help if we’re not prepared to receive it.” Vitamins are supposed to fortify what you already have, but if you have nothing, they can do the opposite, even make you sick.  Just like if you don’t start with a foundation of knowledge and receive greater knowledge, the phrase “too much information” may apply.  Or in another instance, you cannot ask a professor for help with a paper if you haven’t even started it. They seek to critique and help you improve what’s already written, not put ideas in your head or write the paper for you.  Don’t ask for advice or feedback if you are not prepared to handle criticism. Likewise, don’t ask the Lord for guidance if you are not willing to work and to change. For example, if you want help on a test, study on your own first, then ask; Heavenly Father helps you recall what you have already learned, not suddenly regurgitate an encyclopedia.  
The analogy became even more poignant as it was pointed out to me that just as we have to eat again eventually after we are full from one meal, so must we continue to partake of "the Bread of Life," "the Everlasting Fruit," or "the Living Water," whichever you'd prefer, consistently to be sustained and nourished.  This is what I mean by having a full stomach.  If we do our part by coming unto Christ, studying his words and the scriptures, sincerely praying, and striving to uplift ourselves and serve, Christ will come the rest of the way and provide that vitamin of extra strength to accomplish things that we couldn't possibly do on our own. 
My roommate Emily (majoring in Nursing and currently taking a nutrition class) might go off on some tangent about the dangers of vitamin poisoning, and you may interpret this in relation to my analogy however you’d like, but let’s stick with mine for now; basically my advice to myself and anyone who trusts my judgment is to do your part first if you want help.  I’m sorry if you’re disappointed by the lengthy lead-up to this cliché summation, but fa’reals guys. True doctrine.