You've heard the phrase right? We have Food Deserts in the United States. The USDA defines a food desert as "...Food deserts are defined as urban neighborhoods and rural towns without ready access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food. Instead of supermarkets and grocery stores, these communities may have no food access or are served only by fast food restaurants and convenience stores that offer few healthy, affordable food options. The lack of access contributes to a poor diet and can lead to higher levels of obesity and other diet-related diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease" (http://apps.ams.usda.gov/fooddeserts/fooddeserts.aspx).
I have first hand experience in a food desert while on a camping trip in Appalachia. DH (Dear Husband) and I decided to buy food when we got to the area naively thinking that there would be great fresh food available in the mountains. We were very wrong. It only took a couple of minutes in the grocery store to realize that while there was produce in the produce aisle - the quality and grade were not the same as home. Processed foods filled the aisles, sweets and food laden sugars and fats available within arms reach as you were in checkout lanes, Beeny-weenies and canned foods, sodas, oh and organic? Forget about it. We walked away with a new perspective on nutrition in the US. See, good food fuels your body. When you eat food that is not healthy, you are harming your body by introducing what corporate food production wants you to eat - things that will make a profit. Your body is the only one you have - every cell has a specific purpose to fulfill to keep you going. Some people put more thought into the quality and grade of gas they put in their car than they do their own bodies. Our body is composed mainly of water - as babies, we are about 78% water and as we age it drops to about 60%. So in addition to food we need water to survive. In fact, in severe circumstances you can survive for weeks on water alone (recall Zamparini's ordeal on the raft?)
What about another food desert? If food fuels your body, then what is fueling your spirit? What are you feeding your spirit to keep your light shining? Are you feeding it commercialized and synthesized media? Are you feeding it "fast-food"? There's a drought in California but are you experiencing your own personal drought? What are you watering your soul with? Are you "drinking" sugary, unhealthy drinks or are you "drinking" pure, clear water?
John 4:14 states -
Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."
So the next time you pick up a drink take time to reflect on if you are quenching the thirst of your soul.
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