Hunger and Anger

The stats are updated.

Although I gained 11 pounds in the first few days, 3 1/2 of those came back off as my metabolism has improved and my energy has soared.  I feel good!

Numana has continued to be part of my daily diet as I substitute it for one meal per day. I didn't expect this to be such a sacrifice. But it is. Especially on days like yesterday when I ended up eating a ham sandwich out of town for lunch so I did not get to enjoy the pot roast that cooked slowly in the crock pot all day with potatoes and carrots for dinner last night.

Earlier this week I was talking to a group of college students about the project and told them that I was surprised by how angry I was, especially that last several weeks.  One of them told me that he had read a study reporting that the leading cause of teenage rebellion is hunger.

Hmmm...maybe we need to rethink this whole "Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act" that provides only about 2 oz. of meat (or other protein) per meal (maximum of 12 oz. per week).

In talking to an adult group, one man brought up the Muslim practice of Ramadan. It requires fasting "from dawn to dusk" for a month (the 9th month of the Islamic lunar calendar).  This fast requires that they eat and drink nothing throughout the day.

The man told a story of a friend of his that lived in an Islamic community.  Although he said that the Muslim people were generally warm, loving, and accepting (not like the Muslim extremists that we too often see in our own media), during this month everyone is walking on eggshells.  It is just very easy to set someone off when they are already on edge from the hunger.

Understand that I am NOT criticizing Muslims or this practice. After all, Christians also participate in fasting. I'm simply pointing out the physical and emotional effects of hunger--certainly not the spiritual.

So imagine living in a community of hungry people. Not people who are hungry by choice, but people who are trapped in hunger.  Hungry adults, hungry children, hungry teenagers...and lots of anger.  But children cannot take their anger out on others. Instead they are simply victims.

"How Hunger Kills" is an article that was printed back in 1974 in Time Magazine about the ravages of hunger. It states:

The victim of starvation burns up his own body fats, muscles and tissues for fuel. His body quite literally consumes itself and deteriorates rapidly. The kidneys, liver, and endocrine system often cease to function properly. A shortage of carbohydrates, which play a vital role in brain chemistry, affects the mind. Lassitude and confusion set in, so that starvation victims often seem unaware of their plight. The body's defenses drop; disease kills most famine victims before they have time to starve to death, An individual begins to starve when he has lost about a third of his normal body weight. Once this loss exceeds 40 percent, death is almost inevitable.

1974. This article was printed 38 years ago and yet we've continued to allow hunger to kill over six million children every year. More than 11 children each minute of each day...

...while we just get fatter and fatter.

Unconditional Love

Whoever was praying for more energy for me today...it worked!  Thank you!  I felt much better today and went for a workout tonight.

When I got home I found that my daughter's first set of senior pictures was posted for our review.  They're beautiful.  She is such a joy in our lives.

It made me think back to when I was her age.  I wasn't such a joy for my parents.  In fact, I recently found a picture of the first day of my senior year.  I look like I was mad at the world.  It was best if you just agreed with me and stayed out of my way.

I often say now, "I wish a knew now everything I thought that I knew back then."  You see, I was certain that I knew it all.

However, I'm not sure if I knew yet on that day that I was pregnant...but my hunch is that I did.

Don't the proud fall hard.

Over the next few years I cried more tears than any 17, 18, or 19 year-old should be allowed to cry.  I begged God for a redo.  Not that I didn't love my son...because I did and I do!  But there were so many painful lessons that I learned that I simply had no business learning at that age.

My parents were (and still are) amazing and loving people.  They didn't deserve all of the grief that I gave them.  They didn't do a thing to cause me to be such a teenage turd.

If you have a child who is putting you through the ringer right now, my best advice is:  Love them through it.

Yep...that's it.  Just love them every day no matter how badly they disappoint you (and they will) and how terribly they hurt you (because they might).  Don't damage that relationship that is so important.  Even if they lose everything else in the world, don't let them lose you.  And, don't blame yourself for their failures and their pain.

Unconditional love.  Give it!

And receive it!