This post has been a long time coming, but I think I’ve been waiting for the dust of the New Year’s Resolutions to settle. I want people to know that the way we view food in our home is not a diet, nor is it a phase. This is our conviction-all of us-even the kids, and it all started with an apple.
About a year ago, I was admitted into the hospital for what seemed like a hernia, then turned into possible heart problems. After heart testing was negative, the doctors were puzzled. Their answer for my problem was that we were dealing with an unknown issue with an unknown solution. It was a horribly awful time that left me feeling hopeless and as if my body was deteriorating from the inside out. Prior to my hospital stay, I thought that I just needed a cleanse of some sort. So, I because eating more apples, which are filled with fiber. I tried the fad cleanses that are all over Pinterest, thinking I’d have the same amazing results that those happy girls posed in white had experienced. Now that I understand what was actually going on inside of my body, I realize that the apple is what caused my condition to worsen the most.
Another time, I’ll explain just what happened to me more in depth, but for now I’d like to visit a story that we are all too familiar with. You know this story, I’m sure, but please read through it again.
The Beginning of Sin
3 The snake was the most clever of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. The snake spoke to the woman and said, “Woman, did God really tell you that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?”
2 The woman answered the snake, “No, we can eat fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But there is one tree we must not eat from. God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch that tree, or you will die.’”
4 But the snake said to the woman, “You will not die. 5 God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree you will learn about good and evil, and then you will be like God!”
6 The woman could see that the tree was beautiful and the fruit looked so good to eat. She also liked the idea that it would make her wise. So she took some of the fruit from the tree and ate it. Her husband was there with her, so she gave him some of the fruit, and he ate it.
7 Then it was as if their eyes opened, and they saw things differently. They saw that they were naked. So they got some fig leaves, sewed them together, and wore them for clothes.
8 During the cool part of the day, the Lord God was walking in the garden. The man and the woman heard him, and they hid among the trees in the garden. 9 The Lord God called to the man and said, “Where are you?”
10 The man said, “I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid. I was naked, so I hid.”
11 God said to the man, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from that special tree? I told you not to eat from that tree!”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me gave me fruit from that tree. So I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?”
She said, “The snake tricked me, so I ate the fruit.”
14 So the Lord God said to the snake,
“You did this very bad thing,
so bad things will happen to you.
It will be worse for you
than for any other animal.
You must crawl on your belly
and eat dust all the days of your life.
15 I will make you and the woman enemies to each other.
Your children and her children will be enemies.
You will bite her child’s foot,
but he will crush your head.”
16 Then God said to the woman,
“I will cause you to have much trouble
when you are pregnant.
And when you give birth to children,
you will have much pain.
You will want your husband very much,
but he will rule over you.”
17 Then God said to the man,
“I commanded you not to eat from that tree.
But you listened to your wife and ate from it.
So I will curse the ground because of you.
You will have to work hard all your life for the food the ground produces.
18 The ground will grow thorns and weeds for you.
And you will have to eat the plants that grow wild in the fields
19 You will work hard for your food,
until your face is covered with sweat.
You will work hard until the day you die,
and then you will become dust again.
I used dust to make you,
and when you die, you will become dust again.”
You see? It all started with an apple. And temptation, and a conniving snake with a luring promise of something tasty and sweet. I look around the grocery stores nowadays, and all I see is the temptation to indulge in foods that are not good for the bodies that were created for us. Right there, in Genesis, we see that because of original sin, we have to work hard all our lives for the food the ground produces. We have to eat the plants that grow in the fields. But, all over the TV, in magazines, and social media are these “foods” that are “quick and easy” meals for the family. And then all around us are sick people. Our county has found ways to make tasty treats out of chemicals that take only seconds to produce and to create genetically modified crops and animals that will grow at lightning speeds so that we don’t feel the burden of original sin. Did we really think that God was going to let us get away with that? Is that really something that we want to brag about?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have any part of this way of life. I’m convicted over my sin, and I want to continue to be convicted. I want to be cleansed from the inside out and to never feel in bondage to humanity’s way of fighting back against the consequences of sin. This life is not supposed to be easy. Food is not supposed to be simple. We’re supposed to work for it. And we’re supposed to beg God for the wisdom in making food that heals our bodies and nourishes our families. We’re supposed to lean on him for wisdom, guidance, and the energy to work and keep on working. It’s supposed to be hard, people, but with God’s help, it’s also supposed to be peaceful, healing, energizing, and abundant-life giving!
It’s been a year since the dietary changes began in our home. I’m so blessed to say that we’ve seen healing from sickness, joint pain, muscle aches, headaches, digestive problems, skin rashes, mental illness, developmental delays, and autism. And, yes, we’ve also seen weight loss. Living life in this way has helped our family incredibly! I am up earlier in the mornings until late at night, and I feel constantly energized in between. I believe that this consistent energy comes from the food that I eat plus a hefty dose of blessing from God. Although I get made fun of and looked at strangely from time-to-time over this lifestyle, I believe in my heart that I am being obedient to God’s call to care for the body that He has given me and to spread the good news of healing through God’s creation, rather than man’s.
If you’ve tried diets for weight loss and health reasons, and you feel like you just can’t win, I want to invite you to try and do things a little differently. Ask God to take it from an “I want-to” to a conviction. Ask Him to speak to your heart on what He wants for your body. He will do that. He wants us to live life abundantly! Not constantly on the couch, at the drive-thru window, in the doctor’s office, or on medications that cause a billion side-effects. I’m talking about life to the full! Real, true, abundant life-It’s real, and it’s attainable. And I want to walk you through getting there. So, if you haven’t already, subscribe to this blog, follow me on Facebook, and please share. Let’s get the word and the Word out there! How will the world know if no one tells them?
This week, I want to challenge you. Buy an apple, and put it somewhere visible. Let that serve as a reminder for you to pray for God’s wisdom, conviction, and guidance over your nutrition. I’ll be praying for you all as well.
Living Abundantly,
Cathi
