Afraid of Food

Author’s note:  This may have a sarcastic tone, but I really do have big questions about the foods we are putting into our bodies and how to strike a balance that works for our family.

 

photo from:guardianlv.com

I have started to become afraid of food.  Granted, I’ve been sick and sleep deprived for several days.  So this topic may just not bother me as much as when I am well and functioning as “normal”.

The food issue really did start a few years back at my house.  I will blame it on Netflix.  Many of you who have watched the variety of food related documentaries know exactly what I’m talking about.  For a season, we really tried to cut out meat, I started weaning out dairy, and the list of “no-no” foods seemed to be growing by leaps and bounds. Eventually I gave up on most of those changes.

Then I started hearing about GMO (genetically modified organism) food and just how many of our dietary staples that they have invaded.  Red dye, I hear, causes behavioral disorders in kids and Oreos are now scientifically as addictive as crack.

Being sick and couch ridden, I was channel surfing and came across a Dr. Oz episode that talked about nitrates and how they are linked to pancreatic cancer.  And surely you’ve heard about the pesticides covering our fruits and vegetables and the “10 Ten List” of those produce items that we must buy organic.

And don’t get me started on sugar.  I love it, but it’s evil.  Good luck eliminating that from your diet! Diet/sugar-free drinks and products—they are out too.  But I’m sticking with the studies that promote coffee drinking.  You’ve got to allow me at least one pleasure. 

I’m not a big fan of tofu.  I can handle it in small doses, and my kids sure don’t like it.  It doesn’t take long for me to get sick of beans.  Green leafy veggies are great, but I can’t afford to buy most of those organic, so am I eating, or fighting cancer?

Am I the only one who is weary of how broken and damaged our food system has become?  I would love some honest input into how your family handles food, and what it costs you (monetarily or emotionally).

Tonight for dinner I’m ready for some comfort food (in moderation of course).  I’m making a ham (nitrates), low-calorie scalloped potatoes (dairy and some other toxins I’m sure) and green beans (wait, are those safe?).  Tonight we celebrate my sister’s anniversary and I’m pretty sure my mom will bring a cake.  I’m going to eat it!

So, on the cusp of Christmas food madness, I want to know: Are you afraid of food?

Open letter to 30-somethings

 

To my fellow 30-somethings,

How is life treating you? Hopefully, you are healthy, employed and have your needs met.  If you have been especially fortunate, you’ve married your love and have a few children to boot.

You marvel at the fact that you’ve just had, or are on the cusp of having your 20th High School reunion.  How did we get this old?  We still feel young, yet our knees are starting to ache a bit. 

Family and career likely dominate all of your waking hours. Stress is a part of your wardrobe and you’ve developed an unhealthy attachment to your smart phone. 

When you collapse at the end of the day, you “tweet” about the program you are watching on TV to a few hundred “friends”.  You ache for the time to have real friendships with real people who really care about you.  Instead, you scroll through your best Facebook pictures and quickly whip up a digital Christmas card to send out to the masses. 

I feel your frustration.  I too get caught up in this cycle.  Yet, when I’m able to step back and view life from a more eternal perspective, I question why it is that I’ve consumed my time with the worry and activity that fills my days. 

At this point, many of you will look ahead and see that there is still too much to read in the time you have available, and give up.  That’s ok, I understand.  For those that will hang in there, I hope to give you something worth thinking about.

I’m fortunate in that my job reminds me to stay “heavenly” minded.  Working for a Christian broadcaster, the goal is constantly to point people to Christ—through a variety of different programs.  I get the opportunity to see the refreshment that washes over someone as they hear that there is hope.

Statistically, it’s very likely that you are experiencing financial, marital, psychological or physical distress.  You now realize that you don’t have all the answers and you are seeking a God that you may have spent many years running away from.  Suddenly talk radio or Christian television doesn’t seem like something only your grandparents would want to hear/see. 

Admittedly, Christian broadcasters have a lot of work to do.  We aren’t as polished as our secular counterparts.  We can’t come close to competing with the tech and production that well-funded mass media outlets have. 

Our message is simple, without a lot of plot twists and with a lack of CG effects.  Nothing will blow up (God willing) and you won’t need 3D glasses.  But, the underlying message is enough to turn your life around and cause you to see things very differently.

If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to tune in and be challenged.  Don’t watch or listen expecting a Spielberg production. Come instead with a tender heart, allowing yourself to consider what or who you stand for.  Contemplate the values that you want your children to learn.  Ponder what your eternal future holds.

If (or when) you feel that heart tug, reach out to have a conversation with that friend you may have let fall by the wayside--the one you remember as being too “religious”.  Ask them questions (heck, challenge them to really know what they stand for). 

30-somethings, let’s stand together and be counted as a generation who stood against the current.  Let’s be set free from debt, depression, addiction and pain.  As the “Greatest Generation” passes away, let’s rise up and take their place as a group of individuals standing for truth and righteousness.  And let’s do it together—face to face, arm in arm, and only if necessary, tweet to tweet.

With love and hope,

Birga