Excess: Food

Excess? I pride myself on enjoying most things in moderation. Balance is pretty much my measure of success. Husband, kids, house, church, work, friends, projects and errands…I try to make sure that all areas are in neat tidy little formulaic rotations that keep my life in a healthy rhythm of prioritized focus. However, my lady pals and I are engaging in a biweekly bible study called 7: AnExperimental Mutiny Against Excess.  I am admittedly NOT excited about investigating my happy little routine to identify things which might distract me from relationship with Christ or my purpose in Him. Nonetheless, I am in it to win it. I have my eyes on the prize:  More Jesus.

Today marks the start of the Food portion of the experiment. In talking with my better half, the Italian Chef (no conflict of interest there), we have decided together that rather than fasting from or on certain foods, I will limit myself to cooking that which we already have. I am supposed to take inventory of items in my freezer, fridge, and pantry (A chore I shall tackle tonight) and then create a week's worth of meals from that. 

Sounds pretty easy, right? Except that I do not cook, nor do I plan meals. I haven’t had to, because my husband has an entire restaurant at his fingertips. If we are low on something, I text him and he brings it home. I grocery shop about twice a month, always for the same basics: waffles, nutella, sandwich fixins, chips and dips, cereals, fruits and cheese, frozen veggies and meats.  Everything is usually eaten up in one week, after which we eat out (or in, courtesy of Sapori Ristorante Italiano) until the next time I absolutely HAVE to go to the grocery store. Probably not creating the best habits, but it works for us and most importantly saves me time and energy that is better spent (in my estimation) elsewhere. 

 

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE food (did you hear? I married a chef) but it is not so important to me that I feel the need to strictly control how or what or when we eat. The only thing that matters to me is that my kids have 3 healthy meals a day, and that at least one of those meals during the week, and 2 on weekends is spent at the table as a family.  So, needless to say, this added level of organization and planning for something that is usually a mindless and simple process for me (meals) will be inconvenient to say the least….which is precisely the point.

I started the day in the Word instead of on Facebook. (The technology fast is going to really sting, I can already tell.) That is real progress. I used to be a morning person, then I had kids, and now my mornings come too soon and the little ones’ level of energy and excitement and seize-the-day-ness is just, well, annoying until I have had 2 cups of coffee. (Did I mention we have coffee in the pantry, so that is safe?) So it has been on my to-do list for quite some time to enjoy quiet time with my savior in the mornings, but I usually fail miserably at making him my first priority. I pray that this time of routine-upsetting introspection makes room for newer, healthier, and LASTING habits to be formed.  
 

How does eating that which I already have lead me to Jesus? The inconvenience of it all will turn my mind to the Lord, who was more than inconvenienced in what He did for me. I am reminded each time I begrudgingly heat up oil in a sauté pan and chop onions in preparation for or soak dirty dishes in the sink after dinner to do everything for the glory of God. I will save money on groceries and spend more nights at home, but most importantly this whole process will turn my eyes upon Jesus, and I am excited about that. I hope I stay that way. I’ll keep you posted.
 

"I Lift my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2