Growing up, I was always the one with the least flexible food options. As a vegetarian in a non-veg world, unless I went for Indian dishes, my options seemed limited. Inevitably, I would forget to warn my hosts and awkward moments followed. Lamb dinners, steak rewards, and tuna casserole experiences with friends remain etched in my memories. With a circle of friends today that includes vegans, gluten-free diets, and no onion or garlic vegans, I find myself as unprepared to support them as the past generation was in supporting me.
My first response was to eliminate the negatives in my support for others. Eliminating dairy, anything with gluten in it, and avoiding onion and garlic did not leave me with much. My ideas shrunk to a small least of options, starting with a bowl of fruit.
In walking through an organic food store, I found myself looking at endless options. As I reached for them, life’s whispers began to grow louder. As I look at my day ahead, refreshed lesson observations are shaping how I see my day ahead.
Looking beyond myself opens doors to more. In moving beyond my food preferences, I have an opportunity to reach for more options not less. I do not need to eliminate pasta for those who cannot tolerate gluten, I can explore new types of pasta along with potential recipes. It is a fun variation on an observation one writer made centuries ago; “Now that you’ve found you don’t have to listen to sin tell you what to do and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way!” (Romans 6.22)
Living is bigger than I imagine. As I embrace the possibilities for more, I find myself looking at my choices differently. There are stories all around me, waiting for my discovery. When I put myself in another’s story, I find opportunities for giving and receiving kindness, understanding, and respect. In my community embrace, I rediscover my heart.
