There Is Such A Thing As Too Much Ice Cream

One of my favorite things about our time here in Ho Chi Minh City is that we can buy ice cream cones for 3,000 VND or about $0.14 USD. I could buy one ice cream cone every day for a month and spend just over $4.00

Don’t get me wrong, this ice cream is nothing special except for its exceptionally low price. Comparatively, it’s The Phantom Menace to Ben and Jerry’s The Empire Strikes Back. Technically they belong together but true fans would tell you, “Barely.”

But at the end of the day, The Phantom Menace still belongs to the greatest movie series of all time and our Vietnamese ice cream is still a variation of the greatest frozen dessert known to man.

So you can imagine how much ice cream we have had this month I’m sure. (And I’m sorry mom.) But through this delicious series of trips to get the second best thing to come from cows (a close second to beef) I have had a revelation.

My teammates have called this out in me and I can agree with them; I love analogies, metaphors, stories, or really anything else I can make a connection to. Usually spiritual but not always. We’re going that direction with this one, but bare with me for a second.

I’ve started to notice a bit of a disturbing pattern in my life in regards to this ice cream. The convenience and low cost of the ice cream is outweighing the health benefits and long-term satisfaction that come from eating quality food. And it’s not just limited to ice cream. Off brand Oreo’s are not expensive in other countries. They are, however, delicious.

The thing is, ice cream and cookies are not terrible things. Not if eaten in moderation. The problem has arisen when I find myself hungry for a snack and I default to ice cream or cookies. Those things taste amazing and, initially, I am satisfied. But it doesn’t last as long, nor is it as beneficial for me, as something like an apple and peanut butter would be.

Here’s my spiritual tie-in.

A few days ago, as our schedule was filling up, I found myself being emptied out. I was tired. I was irritated. And I was not helping myself out of my funk.

This has been an odd month with the way our ministry happens in that I’ll get three days in a row where I have barely any free time then four where I have almost nothing but free time. This funk happened when I didn’t have much time to myself.

And the time I did have, I didn’t utilize well.

I filled myself up with ice cream.

I’d leave for ministry a little before 7:00 am and get back around 1:30 pm. Then we would have ministry in the evening starting at 6:30 pm. In between we had team activities, preparation for dinner, eating dinner, and then any leftover time would belong to me.

So when I found myself with some time to myself, time I could use however I wanted, I shut down.

I was mentally tired. I was spiritually tired. The problem is feeding yourself spiritually requires some amount of mental energy.

And I didn’t have it.

So because I had no mental energy, I couldn’t bring myself to replenish my spiritual energy. I was so busy with team stuff and ministry that I was not taking the time I needed for myself.

Here’s what I’ve learned (in analogy form of course): A life of only vegetables is super healthy but ice cream every once in a while makes life sweet. Literally.

God has been showing me that movies, books I read for pleasure, walks around the city, naps, card games, and pointless conversations (my ice cream) are not things I need to purge from my life. They are not evil.

They just need to be balanced with the things that fill me up spiritually. Those things for me are non-fiction reading, writing music, reading my Bible, journaling, and time in prayer. I benefit greatly from all of those things, but if my free time consists solely of those things I burn out. I get tired and check out for a day or two so I can recover. And that’s exactly what happened to me this past week.

And balance is the key. Just as I don’t perform well when I’m only filling myself up spiritually, and really actively engaging my mind, I also struggle when I spend too much time in leisure. It’s when I balance the two that I am at my most effective.

So let me leave you with this lesson that I learned from my parents 23 years ago and my Father about a week ago. You need to eat your vegetables because they are good for you. And after you eat your vegetables you can have some ice cream.

And remember this: There is such a thing as too much ice cream.