Fumbling Toward Grace
The Love Edition — because there can never be enough love in the world.
1
Tonight husband and I went to a local pizza place near downtown (not the famous Jockamo’s of previous entries), then did some walking and browsing in local shops. We found a fair trade store. When something is sold as “fair trade”, what that means is that the person or people who created it were compensated with a just or living wage appropriate to the area of the world where they live. It often means, if it is a natural product like coffee or chocolate, that the earth was also treated fairly, meaning without the use of chemicals or other practices that exploit it.
This shop contained a variety of items made by people in countries ranging from Bangladesh, to Vietnam, to various parts of Africa, Asia, and South America. I mention this because I found the most beautiful and symbolic item for sale there.
It is a cross fashioned from a bullet casing spent during Liberia’s long and bloody 14 year civil war.
Very cool, very symbolic. The first thing I though of was from the prophet: “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares…neither shall they study war any longer.” Baby steps.
2
We also purchased “Simply In Season”, a cookbook guide to healthy recipes, broken down by the season, and featuring fruits and vegetables which grow during each season. I am very excited to try many of the summer recipes, especially since we should have a small crop of peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash waiting for us when we return from our visit with my folks next week.
As our family is learning through reading a lot of different things, it is so vitally important to our health (and for me especially, with diabetes) to have, as far as possible, a plant-based diet, supplemented with whole grains, meats, and dairy, rather than the other way around.
Also, the importance for care and stewardship of the earth, which comes in many forms. One thing we can all do is to become more aware of where our food comes from. Who are the people growing it, the animals producing it, and how long and far does it travel to reach our tables? These are all very important questions. A piece of produce in a typical American grocery store travels about 1,300 miles from field to store. It takes a toll on the environment.
So, in order to try our hand at being good stewards of Creation, and to increase our own health benefits, we’ve planted a small garden, and enrolled in something called Farm Fresh Delivery. Every week we’ll receive a box filled with fruits and vegetables that have been grown locally and organically. We’ll also receive locally produced yogurt, cottage cheese, grass-fed beef, and pastured chicken. Yes, we are paying more for these foods than we would at a supermarket, but there’s no such thing as a free lunch (excuse the pun) and what we save in buying cheap processed foods, we will later pay for in rising healthcare costs.
Simply In Season will help us know what exactly to do with that bunch of Kale, or Beets, or Swiss Chard, when it arrives at our door. Bring it on, we’re ready!
3
The Fumbles family (for lack of a better, or at least, less insulting nickname) recently travelled to Yellowstone National Park. Since this is the love edition of 7 quick takes, here are a few things that I loved from this trip:
and here I am I want to be your everything
somehow seems to fix whatever is wrong
you reach into the sweets moments and
remind me that im strong
nothing makes sense when you’re
not here as if my whole world
disappears whithout you whats the
point of it.
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