Gods In My Life

I like to think I worship God and have no other gods in my life. There's a commandment that is labeled the first of ten and thanks to my Catholic upbringing I still have it memorized -- 'I am the Lord your God who brought you out of slavery. Worship no gods except me'. I may not be wearing visible shackles and chains but bondage I am in.

A few weeks ago, there was a series that started at my church. It is based upon a Christian author's book called "7". (I haven't yet read it but it is next on my personal book club list.) A group of women friends decided to do this challenge to address the excess in their lives. Week one was on excess things. You know, the stuff we store up that fills our closets, sheds and sometimes offsite in storage units we pay for monthly. I committed to purging 56 items a day, to represent 7 items for each person living under the same roof I do. Unfortunately it was not much of a physical challenge. It was, however, a lesson in spiritual and mental discipline to hold myself to my commitment.

Week two we just wrapped up. It was a food challenge. Crap. The food challenge was set up a few different ways. One challenge was to fast thru a meal and limit my food intake to two meals a day. Another challenge was to only use seven food items, excluding water, spices and limited olive oil. I did both.

I thought carefully as I found my seven food items. I had my kids in mind and thought of staples in our daily menu. Cereal and milk. Two down, five more to go. Veggies & fruits? Salad and dressing. Dang, there's another two. I'm no math major but if my skills serve me well, I have 3 items left.

I thought long and hard about my remainkng three items. Where could I get the most bang for my buck? Meats or pasta, bread, rice, or potatoes. Hmmmm. A poultry item, beef or pork. I had it all in my freezer. After much contemplation,  I settled on turkey, beef and potatoes. I could make it on these and so possibly could the fam.

I'm still gleaning from this experience. The eve before my fast, I felt somewhat melancholy. I wouldn't have the freedom to pull up to my neighborhood coffee stand (appropriately named ADDICTED) that week. Coffee and flavoring weren't on my dirty 7. Forget the quick meal ideas I reverted to of pizza or sandwiches (too many items & none on my dirty 7 list). I created my own reenactment of my final meal as a free woman. I ate whatever munchies and free items.

Gods I serve? Oh, I was just scratching the surface.