Da Grindz!

"From among all the land animals, these are the creatures that you may eat. Any animal that has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed and chews the cud - such you may eat. But among those that chew the cud and have divided hooves, you shall not eat the following: the camel... rock badger... hare... and pig."

(Leviticus 11:2b-7)

I'm preparing for my first colonoscopy on Tuesday. I'm not really worried about the procedure, after undergoing 7+ hours of prostate cancer surgery last year (and the subsequent recovery period). But many have told me about the less-than-comfortable "preparation" process. So, along those lines, I have a list of foods I'm not supposed to eat: fatty foods, red meat, any vegetables (seriously?!), beans, onions, cabbage, etc. From today (5 days prior) I'm supposed to stop eating those items (though I started a few days earlier, just for good measure). Then 24-hours before the procedure I go on an all-liquid diet. Oh joy.

I know this is an important procedure to prevent colon cancer. And I know millions of people do this regularly. But the altered diet is a new thing to me. I'm sure to eating pretty much whatever I want. AND we're going to Dodger Stadium tomorrow night for a game, and I won't be able to eat the world-famous Dodger Dogs. Ugh. But it's for my own good to help with the procedure, so I'm following instructions to a T.

Leviticus 11 is chapter in the Bible that doesn't get cross-stitched on many pillows. It deals with the food restrictions for the Jewish community of faith. Clean vs. Unclean foods (animals). Or as we say in Hawaii, "da grindz!" I don't know enough about these dietary laws to determine if there were any hygienic/health reasons for them... or if it was purely arbitrary by God. Either way, the challenge was to follow the "grindz guidelines" as an expression of faithfulness. So that, in itself, is worthwhile.

Though we in the Christian church today don't have dietary laws or restrictions like our Jewish brothers and sisters do, many individuals do, because of personal health reasons (gluten-free, lactose-intolerant, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, etc.). Following the "grindz guidelines" to maintain their health is VERY important! For those of us without those food restrictions, we have the "guidelines of Scripture" to follow - to help us live lives of meaning and purpose. Especially the teachings of Jesus.

May we follow these wonderful words of life... as though our lives depended on it (because they kinda do!). AMEN.