What is Kau? I found this to be an interesting name for a restaurant. With that description, you might have a good guess what Kau means. Is it cow? It certainly sounds that way. The sign over the door is in the shape of a cow. It all feeds into the fact, that this is a place to eat steak. But really, what is Kau? When I looked it up, there are many different directions you can go depending on what language you are referring to. However, based on the use of this word, and it being a restaurant that does serve steak, with a sign over the door in the shape of a cow, we could narrow it down.

The most logical meaning of the word Kau is in the root of a language called, Hawaiian Pidgin Slang. Kau Kau means “food” or “to eat”. Kau, is the southern and largest District in Hawaii County Hawaii. Hawaii does have some cattle ranches known for raising high quality beef, however there is a bit of a misconception because most of Hawaii beef comes from the mainland. Here is why I went down this path:

A couple weeks ago I wrote a Post called, What’s the Difference – Short Stories. In that Post, I told a story about a man who was sitting at the table with his wife, reflecting on himself. He felt like he had been away for a long period, even though he had been present the entire time. That man was me.

It was a story about my struggle with bipolar. There are several beautiful “take aways” from the story. First, my wife is always there for me. Then, there is the fact that I have hope. I will fight the fight and I will always land at the feet of God. Here are some other directions that are logical to me.

1. Where did I go? I went to battle. What battle? A Spiritual battle. The devil attacks me with bipolar and I fight. God is my strength and I use Him to fight the good fight. I don’t do this perfectly. Sometimes I lose with the results of my behavior in this world, during that battle. However, my heart is with God. My heart is fighting for Jesus. One of the many reasons I write, it is a method of processing and re-enforcing what my true heart desires. LOVE. Love for God. Love for my wife. Love for my kids. Love for my Family and friends.   
2. My wife is always there for me, “when I get back”.
3. I find it quite curious, that I chose the word Kau for this post. It seems to correlate with what we know as cow – Less we forget false Idols. Scripture tells us many stories about worshiping false idols. Exodus 32 tells the story about the Israelites creating and worshiping a golden calf, while Moses was on the mountain talking to God. However, we need to remember, that idolatry is more than just worshiping false idols. It is also false worship of the True God. There is a difference.   

Here is what I choose to believe: A Mighty Warrior fought for me. He did this, so I could start to Sea. I never met this Mighty Warrior, but I certainly know Him. He defeated my enemy so that I could Sea. Now, I am able to fight the battle with Jesus, instead of trying to do it all by myself. God uses my marriage to my wonderful, tolerant, supportive and loving wife, who is the Rock foundation, I can lean on when I am at battle.

Jesus is always there for US – Just like my wife Grace, who’s always there “when I get back”.