What if I didn't have a choice?

A friend of mine asked me today, "How are you feeling?"  I told him that I was feeling fine except for this this bad cold or virus - whatever it is.  He then asked me if I thought that my fast had brought on this cold.  It didn't - it just happened to coincide with it - they started together.  So then he said to me, "Well maybe you should delay this until you are well and then start." Believe me, I have thought about that, but people who actually have to live on this much food don't get that choice and somehow they manage to survive and most of the time even get well.  That is pretty amazing to me.  So, it just seems like I need to stick this out as long as the fast is not making my condition worse - its not.  The choice to get off of it if I need to for health or other reasons does kind of change the dynamic though - I have a choice about all this - that makes it much more tolerable.  What if I didn't? And why is it okay that there are people in this world of such abundance who don't have that choice?  I am definitely guilty of the twin sins of over-consumption and waste - When I look at what I am eating and think about how much food I throw away in a week - people could live on that food. I am not advocating cleaning one's plate because people somewhere in the world are going hungry - my eating more than I need does not help them.  I am, however, advocating awareness about over-consumption  so that we begin to pay attention to the distribution of resources and consider what could change the imbalance so that all of God's children and creatures have what they need.

That does not mean that we cannot feast from time to time.  You will notice that I have built in a feast day every 7th day - partly so I can survive this and do the things I have to do in the midst of it - but also because the poor actually do that in the Philippines and its usually through the church - on Sundays everyone brings what they have - whether its a lot or just a little and everyone eats and for that meal at least, everyone has enough, with enough to send home with those who will struggle to make it through the next week.  It is extravagance in the best sense of the word. God's wonderful extravagance for all, given through all by doing their part.  I think that is cool. Perhaps we could learn something from them. 

Day Four - How Do Sick People Get Well on this Much Food?

When I was a kid, my grandmother used to say "Starve a cold, feed a fever."   I don't know whether or not that was good advice, but I can tell you this, I don't know how people, especially children, who are not healthy to begin with because of lack of nutrition, get well when they get sick and are eating on a dollar's worth of food a day.  I feel terrible - not because of the amount of food I am eating but because of this virus I have picked up.  It laid me flat for two days and even today, working was a struggle.  I  was healthy and well-nourished when I got sick so I don't think my eating less is causing me to stay sick longer, but it definitely has challenged my energy level - trying to function and get well at the same time takes energy and I would think at least adequate nutrition.  I am getting adequate nutrition for a short term fast.  I have the luxury of actually choosing brown rice with far more nutrients than the nutrient depleted white stuff that most of the poor in the Philippines eat and I'm eating beans that are high in protein.  And this is a short term fast - it will end.What do you do when you can't choose nutritious food, even in limited quantities?  What do you do when the "fast" has no end? I know this is short term and so its tolerable and I have plenty of clean water with which to flush my system - my body will do its work - but what if I didn't have plenty of clean water and my body was already worn down from just fighting to survive each day? When there are no reserves from which to draw? 

Struggling Through Day 2

Yesterday was a tough day.  I have been traveling a lot and woke up yesterday with what felt like flu symptoms with diarrhea.  Not fun!  I had the luxury of staying in bed all day and drinking lots of clean water to stay hydrated - I don't have to buy clean water.  I can get it out of any public or house faucet.  It made me stop and think about those in the Philippines who have the choice of drinking non-potable water or having to buy it - thus reducing what they have available for purchasing food and other things.  I also thought about the fact that I can go to a pharmacy and buy something to help with my flu symptoms and the diarrhea - which I did.  I also did not need to be on the street selling products or otherwise trying to earn today's income so that I and my family could eat - I actually get a day off and a paid sick day if needed. I wept (yes, probably partly because I felt bad, but also because of the realization of the great privilege in which I live and how much I take it for granted.)  Thank you to all of you who are praying with me.  I am a little better today.  The diarrhea has stopped.  I still have a bad head cold and cough but I have enough and time again today to rest and clean water with which to stay hydrated.  Thanks be to God! 

What Does $1 a Day Look Like?

I went shopping last night for a week's worth of food for $6 - that was a challenge.  I can't imagine how families with only $1 a day to spend per person figure out what to buy.  Here is what I will be eating for $0.99 a day this week:  1 cup of cooked brown rice three times a day, 1/2 cup cooked black beans three times a day, 6 cherry tomatoes and 1/2 cup of mixed greens three times a day - that gives me protein, carbohydrates, some vitamin C and some leafy greens.  I still have to figure out how to get some calcium.  (I bought bulk rice and beans which cut down on the cost and bought mixed greens and tomatoes that were getting close to going bad so they were marked down for quick sale.  Here is the breakdown of costs per day:

3 cups cooked rice:  $.018
1.5 cups cooked black beans: $.018
6 cherry tomatoes: $0.34
1.5 cups mixed greens: $0.29

Total: $0.99 per day
 

 

Day One - Eating on A Dollar A Day

It's Friday morning, July 26, 2013.  I have to admit that I enter this fast with some degree of trepidation:  Can I do it and stay healthy?  Can I do it and maintain the exercise routine that I need to maintain to be ready to run the Tyler Rose Run Half or Full Marathon in October to help raise money for free immigration clinics? Do I have the discipline to do it?  What do I do when I am asked out to eat for a business lunch or other important meeting? How do I explain without offending people or seeming puffed up? And finally, will it make any difference?  Will people give? Will they care? As I struggled with all of those questions this morning, I was reminded by the Spirit, that this is God's work, not mine.  I offer it as a prayer that I and all of us will learn to live more simply and as faithful stewards of the incredible abundance which is ours as Americans, so that all of God's children throughout the world can live with sufficiency and thrive as God intended for all people and creatures of the earth. And so I begin, trusting that my efforts will not be in vain and will in fact make a difference, starting with making a difference in me.  I invite you to pray with me and give, if you can.

Diane (or as my friends and family in the Philippines call me), "Pastor Di"