How Did We Survive?
Used to be, or so it seemed that life was easier back in the day. Ignorance is bliss—so they say— and I would agree. Still others might say that the more information we have, the better off we are. Are we better off?
Let’s narrow this down to the topic of nutrition. I’ve always prided myself in trying to make healthy choices while at the same time, sticking to a budget that allowed me to get the biggest bang for my buck. In other words, there were times when I grabbed the cheaper boxes of mac and cheese—figuring that even if they were not the healthiest of choices, it was indeed better than starvation. What I mean by that is that if I purchased healthy and the kids weren’t going to eat it, that wouldn’t exactly be very nutritious either.
I avoided the hotdog section, but splurged on corndogs every so oft. Lots of homemade soup did we eat and in fact, grinding it up for baby food a time or two was second nature. Sugar laden cereals were easy enough to avoid, but boxes of off brands did squander my pennies a time or two. Using whole wheat bread was a step up from the white stuff on which I was raised—or so I thought.
That’s what gets me into trouble these days—my thoughts. I thought I did well when raising my brood—until. Until I had grands, little did I know how much wiser this next generation would be. Spoiler alert—I’m glad I was raised in the not knowing era compared to what they know now, as I think my kids would have starved to death. Had I known all of the bad stuff that was in the food upon which they grazed while they were raised, I would have wanted to get it right. And by getting it right I mean that if something was remotely bad for you, I would have forgone the purchase of it and our cupboards would have been all but empty.
So, what did grandma do in order to help get it right? Why, I downloaded an App upon my phone and with the swipe of a button, I can learn all about it each and every food I purchase. If the product is healthy, a green dot appears. If it’s not so bad, the dot is yellow or orange. Last but not least, if the ingredients within are considered very bad for your body to ingest, the warning dot is red. Then, with another click of the button, you not only see what the name of the ingredient is that is not healthy, but it also tells you word for word what it can do to your body and what illness can transpire from it.
For a while, the App was a dandy. Easy to use and informative. Not only did it let me know if it was safe to eat, but if it was not, it recommended a healthier choice. It worked like a charm and I was going strong—until… Until one day, when I sent a pic of an item to my daughter, she suggested yet another App upon her phone that she trusted more than the one I had been using.
Now, I’m up to date and my food purchases will be in sync with the parents of my grands. But to be honest, it’s all becoming a bit much. Organic? Price? Sugar? Taste? Fat? Chemicals? Dyes? Processed? Plastics? The more information I gather, the more I second guess myself. I was discussing this dilemma one day with a young father. I asked what he thought about it all. His comment shed light. “That’s why we have livers. It’s supposed to pull out that which is not good for your body.” His sense of humor placed things in perspective.
Wise choices are a wise thing because even the liver can only pull out so much before our bodies wreak havoc from that which we ingest. Yet, 1 Corinthians 6:19 points to a purposeful wisdom. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you whom you have received from God? You are not your own.”
Now, as I check the Apps on my phone to see if the food I’m ingesting is healthy, I also take time to check the Apps on my phone which provide Spiritual food. This way, I can chew on that which nourishes the soul— offering a more balanced diet. Amen.
