"...I have sinned through my own fault...in what I have done and what I have failed to do..." -The Confiteor
I thought eating differently was all about my physical health. Who knew I could be so wrong? It has made me aware of my shortcomings as a mother and as a person. It has shown me how I suffer from the sin of sloth.
I thought I was fat because of gluttony, because I ate too much. I need to lose weight because I am lazy. It seems funny for someone as busy as I am to discover my own laziness. I would have thought I wouldn't have had time to be lazy. Sin has a way of sneaking up and surprising us.
I used to plan. I would make detailed menus of well balanced meals for my family. There were varieties of vegetables and lean, well-seasoned meats. Recipes were rotated and experimented with, calories were planned, nutritional values considered. I got tired of the fight. My children argued and whined about trying new things. They refused vegetables. My husband balked at the idea of going without his meat and potato favorites in favor of something new and untried. I couldn't fight them all forever, so I quit trying.
Chicken strips from the grocery store and burgers from the local burger joint were quick easy and never disputed. There was no mess from cooking to clean up, just wrappers to ball up and toss into the trash. The path of least resistance made my life easier.
Easier isn't better and it's making me sick. If we were to look, it's probably making my family sick as well. Their health and well being is my job and I have quit in the face of opposition. I have let ease and my own inertia beat down my instincts.
I willingly have ignored it all until God set my esophagus on fire and reminded me that failing to do the right thing can be just as harmful as doing the wrong one. I have sinned against God and my family by not caring for this incredible gift to the best of my ability. Sometimes it takes a lightning bolt to wake us up to the truth of our situation. For me, that lightning struck in my chest. Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do about it.
4 comments:
Don't be so hard on yourself, Mom. Just realize what you can and can't do and go for it...like you always do. Life gets full. And then it gets fuller.
Pax!
<3
Ellen
Hard on yourself or not, Mom, this was a wonderful reminder to me to not be slothful.
One of our beautiful little girls is VERY sensitive to food additives. We discovered certain preservatives, food dyes and artificial flavorings influence her behavior in a negative way. I have to be incredibly diligent in reading labels and planning menus for her sake. Sometimes it really is just so much more convenient to go for fast food, or convenience foods, but then she always ends up paying the price--not only physically, but spiritually.
Sloth really has a way of creeping up on you. Thank you for the reminder!
Ellen, You are very kind, but I am not being hard on myself. I am being honest. It is not that I can not do the things I need to do, but that I choose not to do them because it is easier. We all end up paying the price for my decision to serve convenience foods rather than healthy foods simply because the healthy ones are considerably more work. It's my job. There are no adequate excuses for not doing it to the best of my ability.
Rebecca, yes, you are being too hard on yourself. You just did what you needed to do at the time. There are only so many hours in the day. Something had to give, and for you it was getting rid of one source of stress. Almost all of us have done similar things - whether it be laundry, cleaning, cooking, or whatever. As much as we'd like to be, we aren't super human.
Suggestion: sit down with your family and have them help make out a menu. You set the guidelines. This could even be made into a learning day (health, reading, spelling, vocab, etc.) To make your children happy, one day a week or month could be a "junk" food day.
Post a Comment