I blink back tears as I open a new package of gochujang to add to dinner.

I’m not crying because of the spicy scent that wafts up to my face as I pull open the plastic seal. I’m crying because of my dad. Two years gone. Nobody prepares you for the random moments that pull grief up, like a rope tugging on a lifebuoy caught down in the deep.

Grief surfaces in the most mundane moments, like opening this brand of gochujang, the red pepper paste dad liked best. Many of the things that bring me delight are those I’ve unintentionally learned to appreciate . . . from my dad.

A hot mug of corn silk tea. Spontaneous movie nights.

If you stopped to consider it, you might be surprised by how many of your favorite things are influenced by the people around you. The music you like, the way you relax, the dessert you crave. In nearly all things, we are influenced by the preferences of those around us. Often, what is deemed good by them becomes what is desirable to us, too.

This is good news that can work for our holy cravings, too. If cravings can be caught, we can be strategic about who and what we choose to expose ourselves to most. Just as there is danger for the person who stands in the path of sinners or sits in the seat of scoffers, there is also blessing for the one who follows those who thirst for righteousness.

And, if cravings can be caught, the most obvious person we want to be around is Jesus. The gospel accounts show us Jesus’ affection for the lost, His delight in little children, and His preference to be alone with the Father in the wee hours of the morning and late into the night. Observing what our Lord enjoys doing and deems worthwhile can stir up a love for good deeds within our hearts.

Yet, while Jesus is our ultimate influencer, Jesus isn’t our only influencer.

“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ,” wrote Paul. We are sinners saved by grace, thrust into community. We’re not left to our own devices as we seek to follow Christ in loving what He loves and living out His ways.

Who in your life rejoices in God’s Word? Who loves to go before the throne of grace? Who delights in their family and the duty of caring for their household? Who makes you want to love what ought to be seen as lovely?

I know a woman who cherishes God’s Word so much she can barely speak about His truth without a glimmer in her eye and a lump in her throat. She studies it with such fervor and devotion that I’m convinced, every time, there must be another pearl of great price for me to discover within its pages. Her joy makes me want to bury my face in the Scriptures to see what wonderful things I might behold.

I know a group of women who have, for decades, gathered to pray for global missionary families. These steadfast sisters, who once brought their own babies along as they prayed to the Lord for those fulfilling the great commission, look back on hundreds of answered prayers and see the fruit of their labor. Their babies are my age now, and those women inspire me to be faithful in my years of motherhood, not neglecting my part in ministering to the lost overseas . . . and at home.

There are women in our churches, women online, women who write books, women who host podcasts, women in our libraries, women in our grocery stores, and women all throughout church history who have earnestly loved what is true, honorable, pure, lovely, commendable, and excellent. With so many examples of women who thirst for righteousness, we ought to surround ourselves with their influence.

Holy cravings are worthy of being caught and, for as much as our day and age presents a myriad of opportunities to develop unholy appetites, surely . . . we are abundantly surrounded by those who love and do good.

May we imitate them, as they imitate Christ. And, may we catch their holy cravings, loving what God loves — good deeds, global missions, gochujang, and all.

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