For the Bible tells me so...

If you read this post, then you'll remember that one of my reasons for wanting to eat locally is because the Bible tells me so. I've been thinking about this and thought I'd at least share the verses that I was referring to.

"Dwell on the land in which the Lord has given to you." 

-Jeremiah 25:5

I don't want to take this verse too literally, because we live on less than an acre in a suburban neighborhood that doesn't allow livestock and probably not even regular row gardens (container gardens are perfectly acceptable). Therefore I know we could not produce enough food to sustain our family on our little piece of suburbia. However, I do think this verse means to dwell on land that is near you rather than that which is far away. I would consider (1)supporting the local economy and (2)cutting out millions of miles of fuel usage, two reasons for being good stewards of what God has given us. God has placed us here, in North Carolina, and I think we should try to eat as much that is produced here as possible.  The more "It's Got to be NC" products, the better!

"Build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their produce." 

-Jeremiah 29:5

This verse is plucked out of a passage where God is telling his people to go back to their land (that they were kicked out of) and basically settle in for the long haul. I have an incredible desire to do this. I would LOVE for us to be able to buy some land (that isn't absurdly expensive), build a house in the country, have room for a large garden, fruit trees and bushes, a clothes line, and maybe even room for some animals. However, that is not in the cards for us right now and I'm incredible fortunate that my in-laws live only 10minutes away with that set-up, which works out great for me.

Certainly, I understand the Bible was written not in our modern era, so times were different. Very different. Food transportation all across the world was basically impossible for any perishable items given the time it took to cross such distances without adequate refrigeration. However, I do believe the Bible was written through God's divine words to be applicable across generations. So, I'm still thinking about these words and how we can apply them to our life.

Little Man and I love to eat grapes, yet they always seem to be transported from some foreign land in Central or South America. Could we learn to eat another fruit that we could get closer to home? Could we learn to do without fresh fruit throughout the winter months? How much sacrifice are we willing to make? That's the question I'm continually pondering.

On this journey we're making small changes...one at a time...they're more likely to stick that way.