Shirin McArthur

Dear friends,

Although I live in one of the fastest-growing areas of Marana, I live in a “food desert.” Our neighborhood is classified as a food desert because we have to drive a dozen miles (one way) to shop in a “full-service grocery store” rather than a convenience market. This issue—lack of access to fresh, healthy food—is usually considered a problem in older urban areas, not fast-growing suburban neighborhoods, but food deserts come in all shapes and sizes.

And yet…I also realize that Native Americans managed to survive in this desert for hundreds of years before the rest of us showed up. They ate prickly pear cactus pads and fruits, along with mesquite beans, rabbits, wild birds, and cultivated the “three sisters” of corn, beans, and squash. As a gardener myself, I know good, healthy food can thrive here!

I imagine Daniel (1:1-21) and his companions must have felt they’d arrived in a food desert when King Nebuchadnezzar carted them off from Jerusalem to Babylon. The king thought he was doing them a favor by giving them royal rations, but they were not accustomed to the nobility’s big-city meals of heavy meats and rich wines (perhaps the equivalent of all those attractively packaged, over-processed, chemical-laden “food” options at modern convenience markets). Daniel was accustomed to lighter, nutrient-rich vegetables. Fortunately, when he asked for what he needed, Daniel and his companions were given a chance to prove their diet superior—and they did.

God provides for us and sustains us. As the psalmist declares, those who delight in God and meditate on scripture will be sustained “like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither.” In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks God to give eternal life—endless sustenance—to those who follow him. When we, like Daniel and Jesus, can trust in God’s provision and providence, we will be fed—even in the deserts of our lives.

Shirin McArthur
More of my reflections can be found on my blog.