I had hand surgery four days ago and so I have been holed up at home recovering. I started reading a diet book ("lifestyle change book" the author would say) that had been recommended to me by several people. It's a method to "reset your metabolism" in 28 days.* "Oh, you can stick to anything for 28 days!" You think? I haven't stuck to much of anything for more than six days except my marriage and that didn't work out so well for me. This particular author is quite passionate, however, and she's even got me thinking about trying - one more time. (I should confess that as I was reading the book, there was a Party Size bag of Cheddar & Sour Cream chips and a large bag of Rolos sitting next to me. Truth.)
Here's the issue...what if I don't stick to it for 28 days? It will be just another failure in a long line of perceived inadequacies that will be added to my pile of "personality shortcomings." It was a beautiful day so I had taken the book outside so I could alternately read and gaze out over the lush green fields. I'd read a bit, think a bit, nibble, read, think, etc. Abruptly, my mind switched gears and I began to consider what we've been studying in our Women's Bible Study group. We're going through the book of Revelation. Let me tell you, there is some scary shit in there! Freakishly frightening and at times, overwhelmingly confusing. You know what occurred to me? I'm serious here - if I can't stick to a 28 day plan where all I have to do is eat whatever this lady tells me to eat - how am I ever going to survive the Tribulation? I don't think I would ever deny Christ but there are times when I sacrifice an entire evening fighting my way through WalMart for a bag of chips so how can I tell what I am capable of? Believe me, it was a sobering thought. But let's set aside the end of the world for today and get back to my diet.
I began to notice some odd correlations between what I was reading in this book and spiritual issues in my own life. Let me share with you a few examples of what I discovered...
1. "Drink half your body weight in ounces of water every day." I'm not going to tell you how many ounces that translates to for me but suffice it to say that I would not be able to venture too far from a bathroom for more than about 20 minutes if I actually accomplished this inhuman task, not to mention the feeling of all my internal organs floating. Of course, we know that our bodies need water to survive and that it is essential to our health. What about our spiritual health?
I have plants outside that haven't died because of the drought but they sure aren't blooming. They're not dying but they're not thriving either. What would happen if I availed myself of all that Christ has to offer me and did it as seriously as I do my water consumption when I'm on a diet? What if I flooded my soul with the Word of God until I was so full that I felt like I was going to be floated right into God's presence?
2. "No refined sugar." It's interesting how sugar affects us. When we eat sugar, even just a little bit, we are not satisfied. We want more. For days. At least that's how it is for me. Once I start eating Rolos, I'm just going to keep eating them until they are all gone. And then the next day I will be scouring the pantry for some leftover crumb of something sweet. I tend to think that sin is the same way. We get a taste for it and it makes it harder to resist. I don't like to admit that but I'm not immune. One "tiny" sin paves the way for a little bit bigger sin etc. until we're in a terrible place with no idea of how we got there. So much better to blow off the sugar and the sin from the beginning.
3. "No artificial sweeteners." In the diet book, you're not allowed artificial sweeteners because they are "fake and poison." O.K. That makes some sense to me. But as I enjoyed the peace and quiet outside, I thought about some of my bad habits. While not necessarily sin, they certainly aren't productive or constructive. I never used to watch much T.V. but since Paul has been gone my friends have become Stacy and Clinton, Lori and Monty, and Gibbs and Abby.** As enjoyable as the time is that we spend together, it is not real. It is fake. Don't worry - I'm not saying, "NO TV!!" I am recognizing though, that sometimes I get started and then that's all I want to do. That's where things can get poisonous. One of my favorite weekends was when I was sick (but not too sick) so I had an excuse to watch an NCIS marathon for 15 hours or more. The next weekend, fully recovered, it was a struggle to get anything done because all I wanted to do was get back in bed and watch T.V. I believe God can give us the ability to have healthy self-control but that doesn't mean we won't have to work at it a bit.
Self-Control
Well, these are just random thoughts that reading about dieting generated. I still don't know if I'm ever going to commit to some kind of "healthy eating lifestyle" but I do hope I will allow God to use the spiritual insights He brought to mind as I read. It's funny - He meets us anywhere and everywhere - even in my chip and Rolo induced coma.*The Fast Metabolism Diet - By Haylie Pomroy
(I'm not pushing this book. Just wanted to give credit where it's due for some of the info.)
**In case you're extremely sheltered, these are characters from What Not To Wear, Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta, and NCIS.
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