When Oh Yes Becomes Oh No

road trip - where in the world is Tor?

No road trip is complete without food. My husband and I consider ourselves to be fairly healthy eaters ~ lots of fruits, veggies and other non-boxed, non-fried, non-preservative-laden stuff. But something just happens to our sensible eating habits when we hit the road. We carry snacks to munch on while driving ~ being hungry has nothing to do with it ~ some people are seduced to sleep on long car trips, we're seduced to eat! And while we attempt to eat at restaurants that are quasi-healthy, something nutty happens to us when we get inside. So I'd thought I'd share with you some of our more memorable spots. (Tip: If you want a LOT of home-cookin', The Black Bear Diner can't be beat. Try their steak salad. It's even kind of healthy.)



And of course, dessert is a must, followed by a nice spot of tea.


Our last day in Oregon, however, took the cake ~ or should I say ice cream ~ when it came to going waaaaaaaaaaaaaay off our healthy eating habits. It involves two spoons and a pint of ice cream. Oh yes, our normally self-paced, self-monitored selves went right off the cliff.

It started out innocently enough. We pulled into a small town to refuel. Now for us, refueling isn't just about putting gasoline in the car; it's about putting something, preferably ice cream, in our tummies. This being the hot spot for city-boy motorcyclists to stop on their tour of the country side, the small gas station ran out of all things deliciously cold except for three pints of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. Not knowing this, I innocently sent my husband inside to pay for the gas and fetch our cold treats. When he walked out with a pint of cookie dough vanilla ice cream I was dumbfounded. Oh yes.

I would love to say that I was dumbfounded that he didn't buy our usual, sensible ice-cream-on-a-stick. No, once he explained why he bought an entire pint instead, I was okay with that. What I was dumbfounded about was that he bought cookie dough. I mean if I'm going to share a pint of ice cream it's not going to be cookie dough. So I went back in and exchanged it for vanilla heath bar crunch. Now THAT's more like it! Oh yes.

Of course, the unspoken truth between the two of us was that in the hot weather with no ice in our ice chest, and no desire to waste food or money, we were going to eat the entire pint. Oh yes. The entire pint as we drove away and continued our journey.

Half way through we were giddy with sin. It's was such a guilty pleasure to eat all that fat and sugar and throw sensibility and caution to the wind. Oh yes. As we got to the last few teaspoons, we were both beginning to have regrets, but what the heck, we'd come this far, why not eat to the very bottom of the container? We'd knew we'd pay for it later, but there was no stopping us now.

Oh yes. I would dig out a spoonful for my husband and one for me, and we would feel that cold creamy ice cream slip past our lips and down our throats. Oh yes. Our pleasure centers were on overload and we murmured "yum!" and went back for yet another spoonful. At my husband's slight protest over the last few spoonfuls I admonished him that we had gone this far, why not go all the way? Oh yes, Adam and Eve re-visited.

Oh no. We repented of our greed. We repented of our our sinful overindulgence. We repented of our eyes-being-bigger-than-our-stomachs. We begged our tummies for forgiveness. But oh no, we suffered the consequences of our actions. Not only did we by-pass dinner because we felt a bit ill, we slept terribly that night thanks to a sugar overload.

I am so grateful that I have a God who despite my sinful nature, will forgive me my trespasses through His Son. I know that I may suffer consequences for my poor choices, but I will never suffer the ultimate consequence of being eternally separated from my God.