Beth: A Rocky Start

From Beth Anderson, Earth Ministry Intern:

I knew it was going to take some effort to make the switch to a vegan diet for Lent. But the past week has been tougher (and more frustrating!) than I’d imagined.

For one thing, I spent a few days in Boston for a training on toxics with some folks who do work on environmental health for the National Council of Churches. Now Boston is a lovely town, but after I traveled all day Tuesday and woke up in a hotel room on the morning of Ash Wednesday, the idea of finding some vegan food for breakfast was about enough to send me back under the covers. After bypassing the yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, and cereal with cow’s milk offered at the hotel’s continental breakfast, I settled on toast with peanut butter & jam and black coffee. (Later that evening I went on a quest for soy milk to liven up the next morning’s caffeinated beverage—I only had to walk about a mile and a half to find a market…)

The rest of the trip went fairly smoothly, food-wise: the Boston-dwellers attending the training recommended several great vegetarian restaurants, and I even managed to find some vegan food at Logan Airport!

However, I arrived back home to find that our house was not well supplied for the new animal-free diet—I think my husband had been subsisting on pasta with olive oil and garlic while I was away. The main thing I’ve learned so far this Lent is that the transition would have gone better with a little more spiritual & practical preparation.

I’m praying that the coming week will present fewer challenges and more time for peaceful Lenten reflection…

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