When I was a child all I ever wanted to do was play.  I liked to eat as well, but the quicker I could eat, then the quicker I could get out to play with my friends. School dinners were often a mad scramble because those who finished first had a better chance of getting seconds – not usually to be passed up unless it was frogspawn! (sago pudding) 

At secondary school this drive to eat quickly was further enforced by the fact that there were two sittings and also because those who were first out got to use the tennis courts and other PE equipment. My parents owned a small hotel so mealtimes at home were rarely a family affair.  Instead, since I earned my pocket money by waitressing, I would serve the 28 guests and then dash into the kitchen to eat my own meal before returning to the dining room before the guests had had finished theirs. I don’t think the food even touched my gullet!

At college there was always pressure on seating so again, we were encouraged to move on as quickly as possible. If I had a lecture first thing this, together with the typical lie-in-bed-as-long-as-possible student mentality, meant that breakfast didn’t always happen.

Then I began my teaching career… hurried breakfasts as I grabbed my things together; rushed lunches – 15 minutes maximum – before heading off to run some club or attend a lunchtime meeting, and supper taken with one eye on a pile of homework I had to mark and the other on the clock as I wished to get to church or some other evening activity.

Marriage and family followed, and eating became a normal part of domestic multi-tasking, crammed in somewhere between feeding, changing nappies, cleaning up spills, tidying toys, doing the housework, cooking, shopping and being there for my husband. Sunday morning was often the worst as, in addition to getting the kids ready, a roast dinner had to be prepared and put in the oven before going off to church. Day of rest? Yeah, right!

I don’t think I need to ask if any of this sounds familiar.  I know it does!  But do we just accept that this rushed lifestyle is an inevitable fact of 21st century living or pause to consider the toll it is taking on our health? Is this really what God wants for us and is there any alternative?

Firstly all this rushed eating is bad for our digestion and since it takes around twenty minutes for our body’s natural satisfaction signals to lick in, makes it very difficult to eat within the bounds of our own physical needs. We will easily overeat, leaving us feeling bloated and uncomfortable afterwards. Eating quickly, so that we do not have time to savour the taste and textures of food, will be emotionally unsatisfying, even if the food is healthy. Thirdly, a rushed lifestyle will tend to lead us to rely on processed food and ready meals, all of which are laden with salt, sugars and hydrogenated fats, not at all conducive to good health. 

It isn’t easy making time to prepare nutritious meals, let alone taking the time out to sit down and enjoy them without endless distractions.  But at the end of the day we do make time for the things which we consider to be most important.  I look back now and regret not having made time for healthier eating and less-rushed mealtimes. Having a Spirit-controlled appetite affects more than what we eat; it also encompasses how we eat. 

If you are finding yourself rushed off your feet and especially if it is having an adverse effect on the way you eat, then I counsel you to bring it to the Lord right now. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you wisdom and to guide you to make lifestyle choices which will enhance your overall health, not impair it. All his ways are peace and he will, if we allow him, show us how to order our days so th