The Grocery Store

Today I had my second of seven possible trips to the grocery store for this month.  I had {of course} a short list of things to get, just a lot of each one.  It was a strangely eye opening trip for me.  

I am largely buying organic this month, trying to keep our food simple and clean.  Organic food is more expensive by a wide, wide margin over typical food.  It sets up a strange tension between being responsible stewards of our bodies and responsible stewards of our pocket books.  I need to reflect on that more before I state any particular view.  I’ve never been inclined to really research where it’s advisable to buy organic, and where you can fudge.  Then there’s the whole chickens-running-free-with-no-cage-to-call-their-own issue.  Again, I don’t know how I feel about that and where being good stewards of God’s creatures falls in the mix.  But, I am grateful that my eyes are opening and I’m actually grappling with the balance of factors.

My second eye opener was obvious {had I really thought about it} but instead I found it kind of shocking.  I realized that a very large majority of products in the grocery store are processed to some degree or another.  Since we are gluten free in our house, there are already entire aisles and categories that I skip, and now there are even more.  Other than picking up some gluten free flours, I literally only had to walk the perimeter of the store for produce, meat, and dairy.  I was shocked at how in the course of a week, the vast majority of the store had become completely irrelevant to me.  And I liked that.

The number of choices American consumers have at the grocery store is astounding.  Today it seemed downright absurd to me.  Intentionally limiting my choices, before I ever even set foot in the store, is a great thing for me.  There are no surprises, no impulse purchases.  I just got what I came for and headed home.  Simple.  Efficient.  Unequivocal for my kids, so no need to beg.  I realize that there are many much wiser shoppers than I who have already figured this out.  Probably some smart-shopper-healthy-eating guru already tried to tell me this, but I was too busy looking for something that might be yummy. 

In the end, my biggest realization is about stewardship.  I’m lazy because I can be.  I’m impulsive because instant gratification feels good.  I’m unplanned because I’m undisciplined.  Lazy, impulsive and unplanned do not equal good steward.  I’m not being hard on myself, just honest.  Thank goodness for love and grace, or I’d be at my wit’s end.  My prayer tonight is simply that this new sensitivity and awareness becomes a part of me so that when this month is over I don’t lose these gains.