Organic Strawberries…My New Idol! A Discussion on Idols and Organic Food.  

I know I can’t be the only one that reads her Bible, and shakes her head at the Israelites. Rolling my eyes and saying, “look at them”, or making the face (you know what I’m talking about) thinking how could they. Only to realize you are not much different! Let’s face it, our flesh are little idol machines…. Taking grab of anything that gives us a little instant gratification. We love to love things, and sometimes it’s not even malicious. Most of my trouble with idols, came from not putting my identity in Christ…. I couldn’t understand why everything was hard. Motherhood, my marriage, everything. It wasn’t until God showed me where to rest. That if put all my eggs in any basket of this fallen world, there will absolutely be disappointment. No wonder everything felt hard! It is the complete opposite of the yoke Jesus offers us.

“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11: 30, ESV).

Everything we do, should be to glorify God, and anything that is getting in the way of that needs attention, prayer, and repentance. Life though is a journey, and while I leaned to serve my family joyfully (even if they don’t eat the meal I worked hard on), give my marriage to the Lord to do what work he needs to do, I’m still flawed and allow sinful behaviors to turn in to idols. So how does this article involve organic strawberries you may ask? Well, you could imagine the wake-up moment I had after having a mini panic attack at my local grocery. Nearly glitching wanting to buy the regular strawberries because the organic ones were too expensive.

It was the organic strawberries or nothing because I wanted the best thing for my kids. All to watch the mom pass by with the happy kids enjoying a cake pop! I ended up leaving without a single strawberry because I felt so overwhelmed by the decision. It was that moment that I realized buying organic had became an idol for me.

I’m sure most moms can relate about wanting the best for your children. I guess you could call me “crunchy”. But, I don’t like to put titles on things! You know, because they can become your identity and all 😉 We try to do our best at my house, but sometimes the internet makes buying food exhausting. I talk about the comparison trap with homeschooling (here). But it can happen with food too. I think it’s important though to remove ourselves from situations that can become sinful, including social media!

Let’s not forget, that all sin separates us from God. It’s not for us to determine a little sin vs. a big sin. I remember driving home and recapping what had just happened. Not me also being proud of my organic cart…. woof. Check your pride there Whit! I knew something had to change, and I never thought I would be on my hands and knees over organic strawberries. But here we were, and thank God for it!

So, how can we identify idols in our life? Think about anything that takes you away from Jesus. Is there something that you do instead of reading your Bible? Is there something or someone that makes you do things you know you shouldn’t, therefore separating from the Lord? My list was a little longer than I was proud to admit, but with prayer God had no problem removing some! Some I had that moment like um I was just kidding! But mommas, just know that we really can only do our best. However, one tip that I can offer is with organic fruit!

If your kids are anything like mine, they eat fruit like it’s never coming back again. So, you get more from Costco, and they don’t like that one anymore! Kidding, but fruit is so expensive. My first pick would be from my garden, but I’m not sure I was blessed with the green thumb. When fresh organic fruit is not an option I like to head to the frozen fruit aisle. I also have some picky eaters, but they have no problem putting away a green smoothie. They have no clue that what they are drinking is the definition of health so it’s a win win! Here are some of our favorite smoothie combos:

• Spinach, Blueberry, Banana, Dates, PB
• Spinach, Strawberry, Banana, PB
• Spinach, Mixed Berry, Yogurt, Banana
• Whatever is in the freezer and add 2 dates lol!

I like to sweeten with dates, because I still have a little that can’t have honey, but that is a great option as well!

So, friends, I think we have some homework to do. If nothing is coming to mind, pray over it. I have been convicted in the best ways sometimes at the strangest moments. Literally organic strawberries lead me to repentance! Jesus has us friends, but he doesn’t call us to anxiety and fear. Feed your family, and love them. They truly are a blessing from above. Until next time…

Keep Growing,
Whit