Food Journey

A friend recently commented to me that we were on similar 'food journeys'. I like that term because that's exactly what it feels like, a journey. The more I learn the more I want to change what we do. Some times we travel down one path and realize it's not the right path for us. So we travel down another. I always liked the idea that you 'eat to live', not 'live to eat' but I'm such a foodie it's really hard to make that statement true for myself. Until now.

I'm so thankful to be surrounded by Godly women who encourage me and also speak the Truth in love. During our ladies bible study last week one sweet friend did just that. She probably didn't even know she was doing it. Just in the course of our conversation about vaccines she said some things that convicted me about my ambitious food endeavors.

The gist was this: What is the MOST important thing? We can aggressively pursue knowledge on any given subject, (vaccines, nutrition, educational theories) but in the end what is the most important? Pastor Dan reminded us recently that we ARE to be responsible but that doesn't mean we can't take calculated risks, especially for the Gospel's sake.

How does food fit into this? Well, I've been spending a LOT of time trying to figure out what to feed my family. This thing causes cancer, that thing makes you fat, this thing tastes like cardboard. Instead of focusing my energy on trying to find out "What's the VERY best?" I should be focusing on the eternal best for my family. And I'm pretty certain I've been failing miserable in this, especially in the last 6 months.

I've been walking through some trials and my response has been to distract myself with 'projects' like couponing and diets when what I needed to be doing was bathing myself in the Word. Ouch. 

Where do we go from here? While all of the different things I've read tend to disagree about many things there are a few they do agree on and they seem a little common sense. 1.Sugar, in any form, is not good for you, so limit your intake and 2. Veggies ARE good for you, so eat lots of those. And for everything else: Moderation. God created taste buds and food with flavor for us to enjoy, but not idolize.So these should be my standards, not "Is it vegan, or paleo, organic or grass-fed?" or whatever. God has been so gracious in His provisions for my family and instead of thanking Him, I'm too busy trying to nit-pic every bite.

So, What is the MOST important thing? Pursue God, not {food} (insert anything that's not God). And set that example for my children. It's a hard lesson learned, and one I'll probably need to relearn for the rest of my days on Earth.