Just A Muffin

A couple of months ago, I went without sugar for 4 days. Don't worry. I didn't kill anyone.

It started out as a one day experiment. I had been feeling dizzy and was having headaches, and I was wondering if it might be some sort of sugar-related "ish-ah."

It probably had nothing to do with the 102 Rollo candies I had consumed in the matter of a few days.

They're just so leeeeeeetle.

Anyway, the first day wasn't too bad...the going-without-sugar thing...so I decided to stick with it and see if I could tell a difference after several days.

*DISCLAIMER* I'm sure in 4 days I had SOME sugar...like in my salad dressing, or in ketsup. I didn't give that stuff up, or even use the "sugar-free" or "lite" versions, because that's just crazy talk.

But I was doing pretty well...

Until...

I got invited to lunch at Mimi's. If you have one of those near you, then you already know where I'm going with this. If you don't, Mimi's is a great little lunch place. They have lots of salads, quiches and sandwiches, as well as some entree items. But the best part of lunch at Mimi's is...THE MUFFIN. Seriously. After you order and before your meal, they bring out a huge muffin (of your choice). And it's warm. And it's huge. BE.STILL.MY.HEART.

Warning...I digress...

I ate at Mimi's one day with my daughter. She ordered the chocolate mousse muffin...it's new. I had never heard of the chocolate mousse muffin, but I was afraid that much chocolate would do me IN (and this was even before I went on my no-sugar phase), so I got my regular stand-by: the Buttermilk Spice. Which is to die for. And anyway, the waiter set my muffin down and then set Holly's chocolate mousse muffin down beside it, and I swurh I heard angels singing.

It was so beautiful, I nearly cried.

But then Holly ate it.

But that was then and this was not...and I was back at Mimi's with my friend, Ruth, and we both order the quiche. Then, the waitress asks what kind of muffin we want, and I ordered the buttermilk spice, because...HELLO? Ruth asks her to list the choices and the waitress goes down the list. When she gets to the chocolate mousse muffin, I stop her...and I tell Ruth all about how it's NEW and how it's huge and how I heard the angels sing and all of that. I know Ruth is gonna order it because she loves chocolate as much as I do. But then I remembered and said (which this waitress conVENiently also forgot to mention)..."oh! This muffin is an extra 30 cents, and the guy last time didn't tell me that."

Not that it's a huge deal...they should just tell a person.

So, the waitress tells us...kind of under her breath...that if we want the chocolate mousse muffin, she'll get it for us at no charge.

I KNOW!

I decide to stay with the buttermilk spice, but Ruth starts asking her all kinds of questions about the chocolate mousse muffin: was it white chocolate or dark chocolate or regular chocolate? Was there frosting or a glaze? Any sort of cream in the middle? Was there a topping? Our waitress answered all of her questions patiently, and then Ruth goes, "Ok, I'll take the carrot cake muffin."

And I fell out! Because...whaaaaat?

Anyway, when the muffin came, I had already decided I would just eat the top...the part that overflowed the cop and kind of hung over. I slowly picked it off. It was warm and soft and had sugar sprinkled on top.

Y-U-M.

And then I just let the rest of the muffin sit there, all alone, while we ate. I wanted to pick it up and push it into my face and just let it crumble into my mouth until it was gone. But I didn't. And I intended to leave what was left of it on my place when lunch was over...but I didn't. I rolled that bad boy up in a napkin, and stuffed it into my purse.

When I finally got home, I took the muffin napkin out of my purse and set it on the end-table. And then I took it to the kitchen. And then I put it in the microwave. And then I dove into that thing like nobody's business.

And it was soooo good. But now I have have a headache...and I may or may not feel dizzy.

Because I told myself that I can begin again with the no-sugar thing anytime I want. Tomorrow. Or even tonight. And in this case, I can...because it's just a muffin.

But God uses simple things to teach my simple mind big life lessons, because sometimes this is my response to sin. Instead of using God's Word as my guide, I decide to create my own limits. Maybe a little. Maybe a little more. Instead of fleeing from sin, I keep it close and even wag it around with me. When I make the decision to sin, I tell myself that God will forgive, and that I can begin again. And He does. And I can.

But it's not always "just a muffin," and sometimes our actions affect others. Other times, it changes the course of our lives.

"Resist the devil and he will flee from you." James 4:7