Day 10: Travis and the Valentine's Candy

During medical school, my friend Travis and I used to carpool from Virginia into Washington, D.C. together. I have many great memories from those days but there is one in particular that I would like to share with you today.

One Valentine’s Day, Travis’ wife, Erin, decorated the inside of his car with some candy. Travis did not particularly like the candy so he just kept it in a bag in his car and set it aside. A few days later as we were driving home from school, Travis must have seen me eying the candy and he invited me to have some. I, who inherited my mother’s sweet tooth and have always had a difficult time turning down a treat, said in reply, “sure, I’ll have one or two”. Well quickly my “one or two” treats turned into a good portion of the bag being devoured over the course of our drive home. Over the next several days Travis tempted me with the treat bag during our drive and it wasn’t long before I had finished off all of the candy. From that point on, Travis knew of my weakness and he seemed to always be trying to get me to eat something that I didn’t really need or even want at times.

Sue will probably confirm that I have a history at home as well. I admit there have been a few mysteriously empty treat bowls, ice cream buckets that have disappeared and cookie dough that was never cooked. I have had a problem in the past. However, when I deployed I committed myself to cutting out the treats. This was going to be 15 months without a single treat, and when I left I was feeling very motivated. However, I never imagined that when I arrived in Kansas I would have to face such a horrible enemy. No, it wasn’t the Taliban or Al Queda...it was the feared soft serve ice cream machine. I have many weaknesses, but ice cream is one of my greatest challenges.

Initially, I fought the urge. Gradually I convinced myself that since I was eating a lot of salad, veggies, and fruit that a little dessert wouldn’t hurt. After all, I was exercising and walking around a lot. I really did need the extra calories and energy. Soon the innocent small ice cream bowl at the end of dinner, turned into a brownie topped with chocolate and vanilla ice cream, cookie crumbs and chocolate syrup with every meal. It was delicious but I was feeling guilty about not being able to stick with my plan to cut back on desserts.

Well yesterday I was reading in 2 Nephi chapter 2. Nephi talks about the natural man and the weakness of the flesh and how we need to put aside the desires of the flesh. I decided that I needed to have the will power to decide what it is I bring into my body. Now I realize that brownies topped with ice cream is not the most horrible vice and probably will not cause my eternal damnation. However, I think it is important that we realize that to become as our Father in Heaven, we do need to be able to suppress our “appetites” and the desires of the flesh. So, to prove to myself that I could do it, today became a day without treats. Breakfast was easy (no ice cream available). Lunch was a challenge due to the heat and others partaking of the “forbidden fruit”. By dinner I knew I couldn’t blow it, so it actually wasn’t that hard.

So there you have it. One day without any treats. At least for a day the “natural man” did not have control of me. Travis, I hope you are proud. I can't wait for tomorrow...bring on the ice cream!