I first posted this…well, a long time ago, but as I was writing a new post for the blog this morning, I realized.. “Hey! I have said that before!” and so I thought I would just re-run the previous post, editing it a bit first. I hope it encourages you!

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My daughter placed her order at the local market’s deli counter.

“You can get a WHOLE sandwich AND a soda for just a dollar fifty more!,” the woman behind the counter proudly disclosed.

A bit taken aback by the assertiveness of the deli-counter clerk, my daughter quietly replied, “No thank you.”

“Are you SURE? Do you KNOW how SMALL half a sandwich IS?” Deli Lady looked at me for support. None was forthcoming. 🙂

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“Yes. It will be fine. Really.” Michaela smiled weakly.

Deli Lady looked at Michaela and back to me with incredulity…back to Michaela again:  “All ri-i-i-ight then. A half really *isn’t* much food…”

I asked Michaela after we left the store how it made her feel to have Deli Lady be so insistent. She said that she gets that sort of thing almost every time she buys her (half) sandwich there. Folks are just trying to be helpful.

Isn’t it odd, though, that we have become a society that generally needs to be told how much food constitutes a meal? Fast food restaurants are famous for this with their “meal deals.” And portions at even higher end restaurants are huge.

We have been trained to think we need to eat more food to be satisfied. It is no wonder that we seem somewhat unwilling when an approach (like Thin Within) for arriving at and maintaining a healthy size encourages eating less food. We are convinced we need copious quantities of food to live.

Even if we are relatively active, we may not need much. Our bodies are amazingly efficient. And it is strange that if we (even politely) say “No thank you,” people look at us like we have grown a third eyeball. 🙂 It does make it challenging to maintain our godly boundaries. It isn’t just friends and family members who want us to eat more! Who would have thought we would need a boundary with a Deli Lady–a relative stranger?

Deli Lady was very zealous about the great deal she wanted to let us in on.

I don’t just have a great sandwich and soda deal to share. I know the Bread of Life. I know the One Who is true nourishment for the heart and soul. Yet do I ever get nearly so earnest about “You need to have this!” as the Deli Lady was about the great Meal Deal she told us about?

Hmmm…food for thought.