 |
| Potatoes, zucchini, corn and eggplant with a tomato sauce |
On January 11, the church I attend began a 21
day fast. I prayerfully decided on the Daniel Fast. When the 21 days of fasting
ended, I continued a gluten free, sugar free, and vegan eating plan. Now, in my
seventh week, I am unsure how long I will continue eating vegan, but I am
determined to do so as long as I can.
That does not mean that I never think about cheating. I
think about it every day. It is amusing to me that I miss eggs the most.
Chocolate, certainly, but missing eggs? So far, I have managed by always having
food with me. I usually have nuts, fruit, and water at the ready, and if that
does not work, there is always seaweed snacks.
I rarely eat out any more, but I plan to change that very
soon. In the beginning, I feared losing control. I also believe that many
restaurants sneak sugar, flour, and animal products in where you least expect
them. I now know that I can control me and I plan on being very selective
when I order.
I chose to continue eating vegan for health reasons. My
health is good for my age, but I want to be leaner and stronger. I wish I could
say that the weight just fell off once I began this journey, but losing weight has always been a slow
trek for me. I have lost about a pound per week, according to my doctor’s
scales and that’s without exercising. I know if I routinely exercise, my
progress to “healthier” will be much faster, but that’s another story.
I began with plates of food like the one shown here. With
the help of sites like Pinterest and visits to the Whole Foods Food Bar, I found
some amazing recipes and discovered some new tasty treats, as my repertoire of dishes
I love continued to grow. I will try to record some here in the coming weeks.
The most amazing thing about this journey has been the
reaction of people around me. While many were encouraging, some immediately
respond with, “Ugh!” Those and some others refuse to even try anything that
they believe is vegan. Still others believe that eating healthier is costly and
more time consuming. I admit it takes more planning and that I have to make
sure that there is always something good to eat just waiting in my refrigerator,
but for me it has been well worth the effort.
One thing that keeps me on this path is a story told by one
of the pastor’s at church. His toddler daughter woke him early one morning. On
the way to the kitchen, she picked up a bottle her parents somehow missed
cleaning the night before and decided to drink the left over milk. He screamed,
“No,” and snatched the bottle away from her. Her reaction was a loud angry cry.
He quickly prepared a fresh bottle and handed it to her. She took it but still
looked at him with hurt filled eyes. As he turned away from her, he heard in
his spirit, “That’s the way you are. You hold on to things that look good but
are not good for you. I want to give you things that not only look good, but are
good for you, but I cannot until you let go of those bad things that you are
holding to so tightly.”
My Prayer: Heavenly Father, I know you are the giver of
every good and perfect gift. Help me to release those bad things in my life
that I continue to hold fast to, and replace them with good gifts from you that
will strengthen me physically, mentally and spiritually. Strengthen me in my
weakness that I may walk the path you set before me. In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen.
