So I've decided I'm going to be vegan.
Maybe not permanently, but definitely for Lent. I'm going to try it. I'm doing it for a few reasons. I love animals, and the more I learn (at the risk of sounding anti-American and communist), the more I dislike many aspects of Capitalism. The idea of testing things on animals "because we can"and to avoid ridiculous litigiousness because people can't make enough money other ways disgusts me. The idea of cramming millions of chickens in warehouses where they have their beaks cut off at a young age and where they walk around their entire lives in their own feces is horrendous. I think there's a huge problem with the economical, ecological, and political implications of corporate food production, especially the meat industry. It's healthier for the environment, and (if I do it right) healthier for me. In Genesis, the one commandment God gave to Adam and Eve is to care for the earth. And we are clearly not doing that. And I am not doing that by supporting the industry with my money.
But if I'm being honest, that's only a part of the reason. Partly, I just really like the idea of a challenge. I like entropy, I like chaos, and I like challenging and trying new things. This is going to be a big challenge. I like my meat. I like my hamburgers. But more than that, I love my milk. My nutella, my cheese, my morning latte, my TOMS with leather insoles... so this is going to be a really big change. It's going to take patience. And forgiveness. And self-control, and discipline, and commitment, endurance, thoughtfulness, dedication, self-awareness, prayer...
When I decided that I was really going to try this, I went on Amazon and ordered a few books about becoming Vegan. I figured it'd be good to have a few starting points - some recipes, some advice from people who have been there, things to think about, how to make sure that I'm still getting all the vitamins I need, etc. (That, and I tend to compulsively buy books.) I got my first book tonight (The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Living), and I started reading it. As I started reading it, one of the things that kept cropping up was the idea that this is a transition not just in diet, but in lifestyle and in thinking about things. The author kept insisting that this transition is hard, and that if I "slip" in my new eating habits, it's important not to beat myself up about it but to just forgive myself and move on.
Up until that moment, I hadn't thought about this as a spiritual experience. I mean, I had in terms of the idea of giving [something] up for lent. The idea is that whatever that [something] is, whenever I actively decide not to eat, drink, partake in, or whatever that [something] is, I'm reminded of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. The idea that vegan living has a scriptural basis. But not the actual transition itself. But remember all those things I said this transition is going to take? Yea, those are all actually things that God has been teaching and re-teaching me over the last semester. And then God comes along and lays this whole vegan thing on my heart...
God works in amazing and wonderful (and sometimes slightly intimidating) ways. He is Faithful and He is Good, and I'm so excited to start this journey with Him.
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