Vows

One month and counting

I am glad that I am doing this year without sugar--most of the time. But I could have picked better timing.

The problem is we went on a trip to celebrate our 20th anniversary and we kept thinking: wouldn't it be fun to bike and get an ice cream cone or wouldn't a dessert be nice tonight. I was wishing I had waited till after our trip to start my sugar fast. After all, celebrations seem to me to be the real reason that sugar exists. The goal of my year-long fast from sugar is not to never eat it again after a year, but to learn to eat it only on special occasions. And a 20 year wedding anniversary is pretty special.


Alas, my dilemma was put into perspective upon reading through the one-year Bible where I was reminded that much more detrimental vows have been made in history than missing dessert. Jephthah said to the LORD:  “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” 
Then Jephthah is devastated to find his own daughter coming through the doors as he returns. And he does sacrifice her!

This passage had always puzzled me because I thought: "Well what did Jephthah think was going to come out of the door of his house? Don't only people come through the doors of houses?" But then I heard a pastor explain that often the first floor of someone's house was used as a barn for the animals and the family lived on the second floor. Makes sense to me. But the likelihood of a person coming out still seems pretty high.

So I am content with my sugar fast and feeling great. I will have many more celebrations in the coming year that will prove challenging, but I do believe I cleared the largest hurdle first.