Just as I wrote this a couple weeks ago and stuck it in draft:
This weekend, in church Sunday School, this was written on the chalk board:
Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known.
I had never read the stories of Daniel. I'll actually admit that I have not read a lot of Old Testament. It never inspired me and I rarely felt led to it. My faith is a gift and I have always felt spirit led when I open the Bible, rarely led to the Old Testament. I digress though, today I was totally inspired by the story of Daniel.
I dare. How dare I? This kept flowing though my mind as I sat there listening to the lesson. Daniel refused the King's table food, not wanting to defile himself. Yes! I thought. That is why I reject mainstream convenience food! All those extra additives, altered molecules, pesticide soaked ingredients that cause sickness and cancer.....those defile us. I reject that. Sometimes it feels as if I am standing alone when I feed my family whole foods, fresh foods, local and home grown foods. It would be so much easier to eat from the king's table and microwave some chicken nuggets, my kitchen would be so much cleaner all the time if I didn't take the time to make food from scratch, but then I'd also have to pay attention to food recalls and e-coli outbreaks. It is a pretty apt metaphor though. Think about it. Those additives and toxins are added to the food so someone can make a bigger profit and have less of a loss, all at our health's cost. Those additives don't make the food more nutritious and nourishing. They are added to make things have longer shelf life or ship better or process easier. They are added to make less work for the farmer or rancher, less of a livestock loss, easier harvest. The king may also be eating from his own table but that doesn't mean the food is safe or clean.
I hear all the time, I feed/fed it to my kids and they are fine. Really? I mean, really? Cancer rates in children and young people are skyrocketing, not to mention infertility issues in my generation, skin disorders, higher rates of ADD and Autism, teenagers with irritable bowel syndrome ..... That's not even the half of it. I'm not blaming margarine for the cancer epidemic, but I do want to share my own story as example.
Since eating whole foods- I no longer suffer the symptoms of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, my body naturally flushed out huge bands of uterine fibroids without drugs or surgery, I no longer have heart burn and ulcers that made me constantly nauseous and unable to eat much, I don't get kidney or bladder or yeast infections, I don't even need to use a moisturizer let alone acne creams, my nails grow, I rarely get migraines anymore, I can actually taste what I am eating. Oh the list goes on and on. And then my blood work came back. My stats look like that of a vegetarian. I'm 8 pounds over what they say I should weigh and those 8 lbs push me into the obese category? I eat bacon every other day, I eat meat at almost every meal. The word low fat or fat free or diet is not on anything in my food stock. No soy unless it is in soy sauce. I try really hard not to buy things that have ingredients I can't pronounce or identify. Yes, we do like to drink soda, but that is available with real sugar now instead of HFCS. I make things from scratch from food, not processed stuff that has double talk on the label. Processed cheese food? Anything that has to remind you that it is actually food or compares itself to food, likely isn't. And cheesy peas, corn is in EVERYTHING. I even picked up an apple at the grocery store that had an ingredients list label.
But I am going a step beyond my own shopping list. We have started a farm, pledged and worked to make our products wholesome and chemical free. I have made it my purpose to educate people about the quality of locally grown, chemical free food, the importance of nutrient rich heirloom vegetables and free range meat. Trust me that this is no easy task as complete strangers are more open to the message than my own family, even though the health of my own family is WAY more important to me than anyone. I can't even convince my own baby sister to give up processed "low-fat" "fat-free" convenience fake food, nor my husband to give up Cherry Coke. It is an uphill battle, a dark hole that becomes a point of bitter contention whenever I even bring up the subject.
Did Daniel back down when things he believed in were challenged? No! He stood firm.
It would be so much easier not to challenge the mainstream and just do what everyone else is doing. I'd have happier holidays that's for true. But this is my calling and an act of faith. I stand alone to make a difference and soon, I won't be standing alone. In fact, I'm not sure that I am anymore.
The lesson really resonated with me, even a week later. What else does the mainstream "defile" themselves with? What else can we or do we reject to honor what we were created for and as? What else is the "king" offering us from his own table that is dangerous? Ah, more questions.
The Passionate Homemaker wrote
this post on natural living.
Wow. This was just what I needed to stop me in my excitement. I mean, I am still really inspired and the session really got me thinking, but now I am adding to the thought soup.
I
have damaged relationships in my passion for real whole food. I was the one at the family gathering who was loud about my kid not eating something because it was not actually food. That was me at a church gathering too. Those relationships are something that I value more than I care if my kid eats a questionable pork by-product or a bit of something resembling but not really butter. I do care about what food they eat, but I care more about my family and our relationships with each other and our friends.
Eating the way we do actually costs less than eating conventionally and we're pretty tight in the budget right now, so I don't think it is cutting into our offerings to our church. We do try to share our excess garden production though, when we have it and sometimes even when we don't. Sharing a meal is a basic fellowship, I understand that.
I just think that maybe, as in all things, sometimes my passionate nature might well do with a tempering of compassion and empathy. I think I might not have applied the same wisdom when it comes to parenting choices, educational choices, and various other things. I can get pretty excited about the things I have researched, applied, and feel are good choices for us. Even if I am simply stating, with all my heart, how wonderful life is because of these choices, perhaps I should be more aware of my audience. You know?
So back to Daniel. He might have dared to defy the king with his diet, but he did so quietly and his influence on the king was slow, quiet, and over time a wonderful benefit. Not loud. Not with a bull horn. Just a daily presence. And this story is important.
So perhaps I am not yet ready to pronounce myself a warrior for real food. I still have quite a lot to battle in my own heart.
