Seduction of Food

I've been trying to shed a few pounds. Who isn't? The only way it works for me is to say 'no' to foods I want. Not all foods, but some. I've realized just how tied I am to some food choices, such as that bit of chocolate in the afternoon. Or the butter in my oatmeal (now I've really confessed).

Sweets in particular can all but take over every holiday, if you think about it. What is Valentine's Day without chocolate? What are birthdays without cake? What is Easter without a basket of candy? What is Christmas without cookies, pecan pie, gingerbread? ...my mouth is watering...

I've been doing without sweets (mostly) for a while now, and guess what? They don't have as big a hold on me as they did.That doesn't mean I don't want them. I just don't want them as much. I can live without them.

Food can be a seductress. I mean, we have to eat everyday, right? So it's natural that what we eat is a matter for thought regularly. And after all, food was the object of the first temptation. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! My father used to say "I don't live to eat, I eat to live". I can't quite claim that as my mantra. But I am trying to put food in it's proper place - as a tool for living. I hold the tool. It doesn't hold me.
Jesus said life is more than food and clothes. I think He meant that there is meaning in life far beyond what we see, hear, taste, or touch. After all, chocolate can only so so much for you, and then it lets you down big time. I don't want to be seduced by anything.

What is your relationship to food?

Day 26, 27 of the Count Your Blessings Challenge

What began as a challenge because I was experiencing a great amount of difficulty, is now a challenge to fit all the blessings I can count in thirty posts. I now deem it impossible. Invariably when I'm discussing or thinking of one blessing, a dozen will crowd in, and soon they are college freshmen in a Volkswagen with room for just one more 'small one'!

But, I  soldier on.

Yesterday's post, a digression, about the beautiful stars is a perfect segue for my next subject. My love of nature.

I consider food to be a part of nature. Edible living things. Therefore my love of cooking, and eating, is included. 

Ever since I was a teenager and was responsible for many of the family meals while my mother was at work, I have always loved to cook! There are an astounding number of possibilities for recipes, and food groupings. So much so, that I wonder at our default to pizza, tacos and burgers!

My $25,000 sandwich!

I've been a fan of the Joy of Cooking cookbook for years. the description just under the title of my 1946 copy reads: a Compilation of Reliable Recipes with an Occasional Culinary Chat. The two copies in my bookcase are well-worn from my hands and the previous owners' hands. I plan on handing them down someday as I consider them necessary for any serious cook. Oops! You see, there I've done it again. I was talking about the blessing of food, and in walked something about how a book can be a blessing.

Well, about food. Isn't it lovely how we can always find our appetite again, eventually? Even after Thanksgiving! It always returns. That 'relishing' feeling when shopping, or poring over a menu or recipe book, or talking to a friend about a particular food. Everyday we get to eat. We can eat something different if we want, or make our favorites over and over. We can experiment. We can taste. We can explore a world of flavors, and sensations. And the colors! Beets, and romaine. Summer squash and red potatoes... Don't get me started.

On to the rest of nature. Rocks, trees, mountains, rivers and oceans!

My love of planting began when I was a child. I loved to help my father landscape our yard with decorative rock and plant the garden. His foot on the shovel was far stronger than mine back then, and I think of him every time I turn over soil.

Peaches from our tree

I have a friend who literally drives his backhoe down my street to bring me rocks he has unearthed in his job as an excavator. They are proud, permanent reminders of God's amazing creative ability. They serve no real purpose. I just like to look at them.

Trees. I have palm, ash, maple, magnolia, pear, palm, cherry, orange, lemon and peach trees in my yard. They all give their blessing to  me! The silhouette of  scrub oak against the golden rolling foothills near where we live is an unmatched masterpiece. Only God can make a tree.

A trip to the coast just to watch the ocean can reset my life in a day.  I have experienced the Atlantic, the Pacific, as well as Lake Michigan, The Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi, Tuolumne, American and Thames rivers, the Delta, the Bayous, and the Dead Sea. They all have their blessings! 

The relentless and faithful roll of the waves and flow of the current is certainly meant in part for the soul.

Scary Things

You just never know, do you, what a day may bring forth?

Today a good friend told me how her life was falling to pieces with one swoop of the ax.

Her soul is intact, mind you, but her outer life is a nightmare that makes Afghanistan look like a next door neighbor.

Which reminds me that He, the living Lord is here, as well as there. Good thing. My brother just signed up for the Army, and he may be sent to Afghanistan.

Scary things are everywhere.

The domestic situation in Jesus' day was no picnic either. He, the Prince of Peace, was born under life-threatening situations to poor people far away from the comfort of home. I guess He knows.

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;)" 2 Corinthians 10:3,4

If we could see as God sees, we would see his protective love and light where there is darkness. Give us eyes!

Feeling Good

Humans like to feel good. This basic drive causes us to make money, spend money, develop friendships, marry, have children, listen to music, create art, and a myriad of other activities that bring satisfaction.

In this fallen world, the craving to feel good also leads us down some very destructive alleys which initially feel good and ultimately feel horribly bad. This in turn creates a vicious cycle in which we choose increasingly more dangerous alleys in search of, you guessed it, feeling better about how the last thing we reached for didn't make us feel better.

I'm not trying to be simplistic, I've just been made startlingly aware of how many times during the day my mood spikes and plummets, and what I choose to do about it. Food, my spouse's approval, shopping for something new are all my drugs of choice. Sometimes, not often enough, I just live in the moment and thank God that He knows what He's doing. Of course I ask for help too, but no matter how good I feel in one moment, the hunger to feel good again is always lurking around the corner.

Realizing our motivations, and telling ourselves the truth about them., and perhaps confiding in someone else is tremendously healing in and of itself. It even can make us feel better about why we did what we did to make ourselves feel good.

Being able to withstand emotional pain is a skill reserved for maturity, but none of us ever escape the need to have positive feelings. The next time you find yourself feeling bad and reaching for a cure, allow yourself the full weight of the emotion. Don't do anything, just experience it. I feel a little like a LaMaze instructor here, but feeling pain is not the end of the world, it just feels like it.

What kinds of things do you reach for to feel better? How has emotional pain helped you to mature? I'd love to hear your thoughts.