On Monday, some friends and I began a 10-day dietary cleanse … ugh! … a diet <yuck>
I entered into this reluctantly, especially when I found out what was excluded … NO caffeine, NO artificial sweeteners, NO gluten, NO dairy, NO processed foods, NO alcohol, NO left-over Halloween candy. I know … what’s left?
This past Wednesday is one of my long days. It began with me serving as a host for a pastor’s meeting. As the host, my job was to provide breakfast and lunch. My colleague, Elizabeth, picked up two large trays of croissants with delicious meats (none of which I could have). On the way to church, I went to the grocery store to get yummy morning goodies like fruit and some sort of pastry. But, as I walked into the store, there were the chips that I love. Then I passed the dairy aisle – that was about too much for me. Then I passed the wine section. And, worst of all, the ice cream section. I saw a brand of mint chocolate chip that I hadn’t seen before.
Finally, I arrived in the bakery where I picked up apple strudel and an Entenmenn’s cake. As quickly as I could, I got the fruit and a veggie tray (that’s the only thing that I bought that I could eat!), and got out of the store and on my way.
At the pastor’s meeting, I sipped on my mug of water while everyone else drank their lovely coffee. I picked up a few veggies and avoided the dip … dairy … while everyone else enjoyed the rest of the aforementioned food. At lunch, I got out the chips, sandwiches and sodas, then I went to get some food that my wife and I prepared the night before … stuff that I could eat. At the end of the meeting, I cleaned up. There were leftovers that I would normally be all over! But I couldn’t. Or could I? No one would know. Shouldn’t I have just one piece of Entenmann’s?
I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.
As I left the meeting area, I met a woman who I’d spoken with on a number of occasions. I would say she’s in her mid to late 70’s, and was looking for assistance. Sometimes, I just give her a gift card and she’s on her way. But this time, I had plenty of food that I could offer her. Her eyes lit up as I told her about the sandwiches. She asked if she could have two of each. So, I went to the kitchen to prepare her food. As I touched each sandwhich, I was reminded that this was food that I couldn’t have. But, in that moment, my eyes that were focused on my own needs and wants and what I couldn’t have, turned outward to the blessing that this food would be to this lady. I felt myself start to smile and I packed those sandwiches not as for a poor person, but as for a person of value. Then, I packed some of the apple strudel for her, because I knew I would enjoy it and I thought she would, too. I felt much more connected to her in a way that giving her a food card never has made me feel.
In the evening, I taught a confirmation class on the Ten Commandments. The subject was coveting. As a visual aid, I poured a large bag of Skittles (can’t have those either) into a glass so the kids could see them. I told them about the diet and that I couldn’t really eat anything that I would normally eat. I had to restrict myself. Teenagers are so sweet … almost every one of them offered to eat them for me. For the entire class, the Skittles sat on a stand right in front of them … beckoning to them. We talked about our desire to dive in to the Skittles, which led into a good conversation about wanting things and even being obsessed by things we can’t or shouldn’t have.
After confirmation, I was thinking of all of the left-over food. We had a whole tray of untouched sandwiches and two large bags of un-opened chips. So, I brought all of that food that I couldn’t have over to our local shelter. As soon as I got out of my car, I was greeted by a few residents who were thrilled at what they saw coming in! One gentleman offered to open the door for me. Another man offered to take the whole tray instead of letting me give it to the office attendant 🙂
At the end of a day like that, you can’t help but reflect: I thought about the pastor’s meeting, the woman in need, the confirmation class and bringing food to the shelter. Even with all of this stuff that I can’t have … God has so richly blessed me. I have all the food I need and more. I’ve got a great family. It was an honor to serve food to the woman earlier in the day and an honor to bring food to the shelter that wasn’t food that was cast aside, out of date, or in any way sub-par. It was good food that I would have LOVED to eat.
On Wednesday, food that I normally take for granted brought about a change in me.
Epicurious Lutheran 