Changing Those Pesky Habits

A story is told of a little girl who sat at her kitchen table watching her mom make dinner. Four generations had arrived for a family reunion and there was much to do.

The little girl watched as her mother placed the roast in a large pan and as she normally did, proceeded to cut off several inches of it and put it aside.  

The daughter watched all this thoughtfully. Being a curious little child, she  innocently asked, “Mom, why do you always cut the end of the roast off each time you and toss it aside?”

Her mother shrugged and replied, “Well, I don’t honestly know honey, but that’s how my mother did it. Why don’t you ask her?”

So the girl walked into the living room and asked her grandmother, “Grandmother, why did you always cut a few inches off the Sunday roast when you put in the pan?”

The grandmother contemplated the question for awhile and finally remarked, “Well I don’t really know. But it’s always been the way my mother made it. Let’s ask her.”

So they both walked into the den where her great-grandmother was watching television and the child asked,” Great-grandma why did you always cut a couple inches off the Sunday roast before you placed it in the oven?”

Great-grandmother  seemed perplexed at the question. “Why in the world would you ask that?”

“Well, mom is making dinner and that’s what she does, so I asked why and she didn’t know. Then I asked grandmother why she did that too and she didn’t know either. So we thought we’d ask you why you did the same thing?”

“Oh honey,” the great-grandmother sighed, shook her head and smiled sadly. “I only cut the roast because my pan was too small!”

Yes, we live as we learn and habits are pesky things. Occasionally, (as you’ve probably found as well), even when I spoke to my children, I thought, “My goodness – I sound like my mother!”

We tend to act, purchase and cook as our parents did. How many of us buy the same deodorant, mouthwash, paper towels or peanut butter that our parents routinely purchased?  We recognize the brand name and it’s reassuring to know exactly what we will get. But sometimes people get into a rut and are afraid to branch out and try new things.

I was a European tour guide for a few years (yeah I know, twist my arm.) After we entered a village and had some free time for lunch, inevitably someone would ask where the local McDonald’s was. They were afraid to be adventurous, trying new foods.

Our bodies can get into a routine also. We shouldn’t! When one eats the same old foods . . .  exercises in the same old way . . . even uses the same old shampoo, our body gets used to it. We get into a rut. Exercising the same way continually uses the same muscle groups and the body stagnates. If we constantly eat the same foods, we could develop an allergy to that food. Not varying your calorie intake also creates the innate metabolic function of “same old calories in, same old calories out.”

God created us with bodies that need variety! Each nutrient provides a different purpose within our frame. Mixing up different food groups with diverse nutrients will assist in keeping us healthy.  I urge you to become adventurous because God has provided us with a bounty of nutritional goodness!

    “In whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” (Ephesians 2:21)