Thinking Out Loud, Volume CDXLIII

Grandma meant well. She was only doing the best she knew with what information she had at the time. For lack of a better term, let me just say she came from a less "enlightened" generation. One thing she could do well, however, was cook, and the memories of those scrumptious biscuits with cane syrup, fresh bacon, eggs and grits are permanently embedded in my brain. The smell of fresh bread baking in the oven permeated the atmosphere for a good quarter mile around her home. Breakfast time and dinner time were moments of great conversation and delicious food. It's just that now we know she was doing it all wrong, but like I said, she can't be blamed. Today we know better, so now we look back and pity Grandma for her ignorance. She didn't have Internet. She never heard of Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. The name "Google" had not even been invented during her time. Besides, she didn't have access to all the books we now have at our disposal. Her education was limited, so she didn't read much anyway....in fact, the only reading she did was The Bible, and she read it every day. It was her only source of information, which may explain her lack of enlightenment. As for us, we have an endless supply of books and blogs coming our way, and all of them are telling us how harmful Grandma's lifestyle was. One book will tell us how deadly her bacon and eggs were to those of us she loved so much. Then the next book comes out and tells us that the bacon and eggs weren't so bad, but, since her bread was made from grain, it was harmful food that would shorten our lives. We are so enlightened today we can keep up with how what's healthy changes from day to day. The foods that were vital for survival yesterday are deadly today, and will likely remain so for at least the next month or so before the situation reverses itself again when the next book comes out. Poor Grandma. All she had to guide her was The Bible, so her cooking styles remained constant down through the years. She had to rely on instructions such as "...what I have called clean, don't call unclean." She also had to depend on the words of Jesus when he said "Give us this day our daily bread." I'm sure she understood He was talking about food in general, but He used the term "bread." It was like He was saying "Give us this day our daily harmful food that will shorten our lives." In fact, He even referred to Himself as the "Bread of Life." Just yesterday I started searching for what people are saying on this topic, and I read a blog by an "enlightened" Christian blogger who said that since our bread is prepared different from the way it was then, those terms should not be taken literally. Maybe that lady should tell Jesus He used a poor choice of words. Grandma is NOT gonna tell Him that, and I'm sticking with Grandma. Preston