When Your Desires Change
I've been thinking about whole food nutrition, how much I love it, and how my newish relationship with healthier food mimics my relationship with Jesus. Wait. What does that even mean?
Let me explain—and instead of just speaking from my heart, I'll let my younger self talk too.
The scene: I'm sitting at a coffee shop with my younger self, discussing faith, food, family and such.
Young Lori, in her mid-thirties, drinking a white chocolate mocha and enjoying an iced lemon pound cake, leans forward and earnestly asks, "Hey, I know you're a health coach now. I want to get healthier. What would you recommend?"
Older Lori—the one with plenty of wrinkles, varicose veins and wisdom—replies, "Well, sweet girl, ya gotta upgrade your food supply."
Tightening her grip on her coffee, younger Lori says, "What does that even mean?"
"You need to switch to whole food nutrition."
Younger Lori immediately imagines a lifetime of dry chicken breasts and steamed broccoli. "Surely there's another way."
"This is the surest, straightest path."
"But I love my food." Roast beef sandwiches, curly fries, Jamocha Shakes from Arby's came to mind. Cinnamon streusel muffins. Million dollar cookies. Ooey gooey butter cake. The list kept going—all her sweet and savory favorites, foods that felt like little celebrations.
Seeing the suppressed panic, older Lori puts her hand on her younger self's arm. "Remember Dona? Remember what she did for you, how she led you to a new place in the spiritual world?"
"Of course I remember Dona."
"How old were you when Dona changed your trajectory?"
"Late twenties."
"Let's go revisit that. I think it'll help you here."
"Okay. Well—while I lived in St. Louis, I went to a moms' Bible study called Heart to Heart. One of the leaders, Dona, was my friend and mentor. One day she spoke about her walk with Jesus, and I felt drawn to more."
"More?"
"At that point in my life, I was just busy with small children. I didn't have the focus Dona had, and I could see how my life wasn't as peaceful or rich as hers. She wasn't simply talking about Jesus—she knew Him. I wanted what she had."
"So what did you do?"
"After her talk, I pulled her aside and told her I saw a deep peace in her, and asked how I could have it too."
"And she told you?"
Younger Lori smiles at the memory. "She told me to leap."
"Leap?"
"Into Christ."
"What did you say?"
"Honestly? That I couldn't."
"Why not?"
"Because I swore like a sailor and spent all my free time reading trashy romance novels, and honestly, I liked ‘em both. I didn't want to give them up."
Older Lori laughs. "And how did Dona respond to that admission?"
"She looked at me, eyes shining—so sure and confident—and told me that once I started walking with Jesus, my old vices would lose their lure."
"And did they?"
"Yes. Once I started taking my faith seriously, it was like walking into a beautiful mansion—door after door, each one holding a new treasure. Every book I read took me deeper, higher, closer to Christ. Every day I had quiet prayer time and it was like finding a bit of myself. I realized I wasn't giving something up. I'd been given something infinitely better."
"Did you miss the trashy novels?"
"Not at all. It's like I became a different person. If I ever picked one up again, part of me would revolt. I couldn't read it anymore."
"Thank you for sharing that—it's going to help you with your food journey."
"Really?"
"When you started reading books with substance, they filled your heart, mind and soul. Whole food nutrition does the same thing."
Younger Lori tilts her head, perplexed. "How?"
"Processed food is a lot like those trashy novels. Exciting for a moment. Never satisfying. Whole foods actually nourish you—and eventually your body learns the difference."
"But it tastes good."
"So did the novels. But once you make the switch to real, whole food, your tastes change—the same way they changed when you started walking with Jesus. As your reading shifted, you began to appreciate the richness of the spiritual journey. Food is no different."
Younger Lori sits back, wondering if her older self has lost her mind. Truthfully, I don't blame her. If someone had told me then that I'd someday crave roasted vegetables more than a Jamocha Shake, I'd have laughed out loud.
So I leaned in and told my younger self, "Why don't we do a Dona right now?"
"Meaning?"
"Leap. Take a month and leap into whole food living. I'll teach you everything I know—give you a massive advantage. It took me years to learn this. I'd love to hand it to you now."
"Sounds wonderful. Where do we start?"
Writing this made my heart happy. Maybe that's why I get so excited about helping men and women discover whole food living. But if I'm being honest, this was never just about food.
Dona was right all those years ago. When I finally took her advice and began walking with Christ, my desires slowly began to change. I wasn't forcing myself to let go of old things—I was discovering something so much richer that the old things gradually lost their grip.
Years later, I found that same pattern in my health journey. As I learned to nourish my body with foods that truly gave life, my tastes changed there too. The things I once thought I couldn't live without slowly lost their hold, because I'd discovered something better.
I think that's one of God's gentlest ways of working. He doesn't simply ask us to give things up. He invites us into something so much fuller that our hearts begin to desire what actually brings life.
Abundant life. To the full.
My heart is happy just typing that.
When you think about your life, is there something you are doing that isn’t that wonderful for you, but you can’t imagine living without it? (See younger Lori clutching her romance novel and curly fries.)
Instead of thinking about giving ‘em up…what if you simply took a leap toward something better?
That's really what the Journey to Real Freedom is about. It's a free, 6-lesson journey where I'll help you begin exploring what real freedom can look like—with food, with faith, and with yourself.
Maybe it's time to leap.