Unleavening
My friend Janette is Jewish and we go to coffee sometimes, play chess, talk about various creative projects. You know, we're friends. She's Jewish and I am a pastor so religion often comes up and we have a go at it. In one conversation, we talked what leaven is:
I called this blog Leaven Leaving because this journey I am on is a process of undoing years of dysfunction and damage to my body and my person. The sins of my youth have finally caught up with me in ways that I could have never imagined--the lust and greed and glut has just buried me. So, yes, the entries here are very personal--they document the struggles and the victories. Eventually, there will be more victories than struggles. For example, as of today I am the lightest I have been in over 12 years! And my relationship to food is not so sticky. I have fully adopted a healthy eating pattern--six small meals a day. More often than not, I am able to stop myself before I reach for certain foods; I challenge myself by asking, "Do I really want/need/can use this right now?"; I instead choose the healthier option, which is usually a glass of water. I no longer eat to celebrate or mourn or because of boredom. These are victories. This is what it looks like to be unleavened.
The process of leaven leaving is remembering the plight of being overweight and living in dysfunction and overcoming it. That's the true nature of this intervention. In my first post, I stated that if I do not follow this plan, I will die. I do not believe this is an overstatement in any way. I am thankful to have the love and support of everyone who is on this journey with me.
Thank you, Janette. Thank you, Kevin. Thank you, Barb and Jean. Thank you Laura. Above all, thank you, Laura. And my kids. I have so many reasons to do this.
In Judaism the term for unleavened bread is Matzah. Matzah is used to symbolize the restless flight from the exodus of Egypt. Since we could not stay in place during exodus to let our bread rise we eat Matzah to remember the plight of being homeless and wandering the desert. That is why no leavened bread is eaten during Passover. (This gets real strick with all types of food. The matzah must be baked within 18 minutes of the flour and water mixing or it is not considered unleavened.)She adds that the literal definition of Matzah is "unleavened bread." Matzah symbolizes purity and humility and a person not puffed up on egoism.
I called this blog Leaven Leaving because this journey I am on is a process of undoing years of dysfunction and damage to my body and my person. The sins of my youth have finally caught up with me in ways that I could have never imagined--the lust and greed and glut has just buried me. So, yes, the entries here are very personal--they document the struggles and the victories. Eventually, there will be more victories than struggles. For example, as of today I am the lightest I have been in over 12 years! And my relationship to food is not so sticky. I have fully adopted a healthy eating pattern--six small meals a day. More often than not, I am able to stop myself before I reach for certain foods; I challenge myself by asking, "Do I really want/need/can use this right now?"; I instead choose the healthier option, which is usually a glass of water. I no longer eat to celebrate or mourn or because of boredom. These are victories. This is what it looks like to be unleavened.
The process of leaven leaving is remembering the plight of being overweight and living in dysfunction and overcoming it. That's the true nature of this intervention. In my first post, I stated that if I do not follow this plan, I will die. I do not believe this is an overstatement in any way. I am thankful to have the love and support of everyone who is on this journey with me.
Thank you, Janette. Thank you, Kevin. Thank you, Barb and Jean. Thank you Laura. Above all, thank you, Laura. And my kids. I have so many reasons to do this.
Comments
Post a Comment