A Little Bit
From October first to October sixth,
Marshalltown had four visitors from Santiago
de Maria, El Salvador—two women and two men.
These four visitors were from St. Martin de Porres church, sister parish
to Marshalltown’s St. Francis of Assisi parish .
The weather during those six days
was cold and rainy—unlike the warmer temps in El Salvador. We loaned our visitors coats.
One of the women Isabel was slim,
not skinny, but healthy. She wore a coat all the time—whether outside or
inside. One evening at dinner, when Theresa,
Marshalltown Community College Spanish instructor, joined us, we were
commenting on Isabel’s wearing a coat all the time, even inside. I said, “Well, look at how thin she is. She doesn’t have any fat to keep her warm.”
Theresa translated our conversation
to Isabel. She smiled and said, “I eat
everything, but I only take a little bit.”
Hm, I’ve heard that before. After Isabel made this comment, I began to
watch her eating style at meals. She did
what she said—took a little bit of everything offered.
Not only did she take a “little” bit
of everything, but she also ate slowly.
The rest of us were long finished before she was (and I’m a fairly slow
eater myself, but she out slowed me).
When she was full, she stopped
eating, regardless of how much food remained on her plate.
As I reflect on Isabel’s eating
style, the Spirit reminds me of teachings the Wise One has given me. God has given us appestats, fuel gauges that
tell us when we are empty and when we’re full.
Isabel listened to her gauge.
Eating too fast causes us to eat
more than we need, for it takes a while for our fuel gauge to catch up with our
eating speed to let us know when we are full.
Finally, First Corinthians, Verse 16,
tells us “All things are lawful for [us], but not all things are beneficial”
(St. Joseph Ed.). Hm, dare I add, “too
much, even of lawful things, are not beneficial either”?
Isabel was a living lesson to me on
how to eat and enjoy one’s eating and the company with whom I am eating.
Sharon Witty
