Panera

I am sitting at Panera Bread and going over the last few months. I have been feeling a special pull on my heart lately for the poor in Africa once again. Even here I am aware of the abundance of America and my heart sinks as I look at the food items listed for sale. There are so many choices of foods. I feel spoiled. I feel guilty too.

How is it that I have all this? I can have soup today or a sandwich. I can choose a salad or a bagel. With the bagel I can choose butter or a spread. With the soup I can choose an apple or bread. The funny thing is that all of it tastes good and I can have two.

There is nothing I can say to compare my life to the villages we work in. The dominating food would be casava. It is a white root similar to a potato. There is usually no salt for them to increase flavors. They make stew with it but the water they boil it in is filthy and brown. They stir it with a long stick. It tastes bland and starchy and there are no other choices.

I wish I could bring one of them here to experience this. But then again, I would feel embarrased too. How could I explain the wealth and abundance here and the lack of the basics there? It is a puzzle.

Ben is doing better. The doctors put him through tons of tests. One doctor told me he needs to manage his stress better and relax. Ha! I still don't know how to make him do that! When I see him start to fume at the kids or one of the 3 dogs, I start yelling, "Relax!" I don't really think that is working!