Vegan For Lent: Week Three (or so...)

I've had several conversations recently with people wondering how "the vegan thing" is going. My husband has really been craving and missing the experience of eating meat- a big, fantastic hamburger, or grilled salmon. He's been a champ, but he'll be very ready to enjoy something of the meat-variety come Easter Sunday. I honestly haven't really missed meat. Granted, grilling season has yet to begin in earnest, and we can't afford to eat sushi anyway. But I really thought I'd be pining away for shaved parmesano reggiano or a giant dollop of goat cheese atop spicy italian sausage and peppers. Not so far, though Easter is still 3 weeks away.

What I have appreciated is the very thing I was hoping for- I really wanted to enjoy the abundance of plant-based food. Sauteed bell peppers and sweet onions with portobello mushrooms, stuffed into a tortilla with gloriously spicy guacamole. Delectable strawberries with coconut-milk whipped cream for dessert. And yes, french fries still make the vegan-table.

I've long since believed that, to experience beauty in its many forms is to experience GOD. And anytime we stop and recognize that beauty, when we enjoy it and give thanks for it, we worship GOD at a fundamental level. A communion of Creator and co-creator/created happens in a mysterious, but experiential way. I've continued to find this to be true throughout this Lenten season.

There's something more that I'm craving, though- something more that has compelled me to take this journey of Lent via my dinner plate. Of course, I haven't really known quite what that is. I was at Target this last week and on a whim picked up the book "Women, Food and God" by Geneen Roth. I was intrigued by the title and figured it'd probably be appropriate for the season.

I have to admit that I skimmed through quite a few pages, as compulsive over-eating hasn't really been my issue. I was surprised at how vague her notion was of God- or least, that's how she presented her notion. I found her references to God were more about psychology and ourselves, but OK- I can work with that. In fact, I could probably reinterpret that more easily than if Ms. Roth were a hyper-evangelical Christian. But that's a different issue I have. :)

What struck me about this book and the thing I have been considering all week is this: when I use food to meet an emotional or spiritual need, I am checking out of my body and excusing myself to be somewhere else- I become dis-integrated from myself. And this is something God has never wanted.

This idea of dis-integration is one that really resonates with me because for the last few years I've been on a quest to re-integrate the various parts of my life. I want what I believe to be true about God- about myself- about the world to be integrated (or in alignment) with the way I parent, the way I spend my time, the way I love my husband and friends. And I want that same integration/alignment with the way I treat my body- how I speak to it, how I feed it and how I use it to enjoy physical activity or to help others.