{"id":1611,"date":"2015-04-02T01:46:23","date_gmt":"2015-04-02T01:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=1611"},"modified":"2015-03-29T19:00:10","modified_gmt":"2015-03-29T19:00:10","slug":"chronic-illness-dining-out-and-holy-thursday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2015\/04\/chronic-illness-dining-out-and-holy-thursday.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronic Illness, Dining Out, and Holy Thursday"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image<\/a>
Image courtesy of dan\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For those who are healthy, dining out can be pure pleasure. You get to select from a wide array of foods, you don’t have to labor in the kitchen to prepare your meal, and you don’t have to clean up afterwards! Yes, you do have to pay for the privilege of eating in a restaurant, but that really is a “small price” to pay for what is usually a positive experience.<\/p>\n

For those of us with chronic illness, especially if we are immune-compromised due to our disease or the medications we take, eating out poses sometimes steep challenges. Often, we have to ask specifically about ingredients and method of preparation before ordering our meal, and even then, we might have to limit ourselves significantly. We look upon silverware, glasses, and other serving utensils and vessels with a critical eye so that we don’t accidentally get something that isn’t clean (and even then, we probably make liberal use of our supply of handwipes!). We might even have to ask for a change of table or server, if we detect that someone nearby (or the person who is supposed to serve us) is ill.<\/p>\n

Yes, we do have challenges!<\/p>\n

But, still, eating out, even for the chronically ill, can be a wonderful experience, if we focus on the real reason we do it – sharing a meal with friends.<\/p>\n

I am reminded of this on Holy Thursday, especially, and the intimate meal in an upstairs room where Jesus broke bread, shared wine, and gave us Eucharist. For all of the trauma to come, and for all of the undercurrent of betrayal that was in the room, the presence of love, communion, and grace was and still is nourishment for more than just earthly bodies!<\/p>\n

As we share meals this week and in the days and years to come, let’s remember that there is food other than what is on our plate. Food for the soul, in a meal shared, despite our physical restrictions, is a blessing well worth our love!<\/p>\n

Peace,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For those who are healthy, dining out can be pure pleasure. You get to select from a wide array of foods, you don’t have to labor in the kitchen to prepare your meal, and you don’t have to clean up afterwards! Yes, you do have to pay for the privilege of eating in a restaurant,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,4,1047,578,1245,1236],"tags":[29,1625,539,476,1004,1626],"class_list":["post-1611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-encouragement-in-life","category-words-of-encouragemnent-and-info-for-all","category-good","category-goodness","category-positive","category-prayer-2","tag-chronic-illness","tag-eating-out-and-chronic-illness","tag-eucharist","tag-holy-thursday","tag-sharing-a-meal","tag-the-blessing-of-friendship"],"yoast_head":"\nChronic Illness, Dining Out, and Holy Thursday - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2015\/04\/chronic-illness-dining-out-and-holy-thursday.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chronic Illness, Dining Out, and Holy Thursday - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For those who are healthy, dining out can be pure pleasure. 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1611"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1612,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1611\/revisions\/1612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}