I Used To Be Afraid of Guacamole

Photo credit: Pixabay

​I’m not sure why. I guess I wasn’t exposed to it as a child, or didn’t grow up in a guacamole-friendly family. Maybe someone told me it was yucky and since it looked kinda weird I believed them?

I mean, it was green. I wasn’t a fan of green food. Except Jello, and I don’t consider that a food.

And sometimes guac has little red things in it, like, what is that?

But then one day my brother-in-law made some guacamole from scratch. That means from an avocado. Did you know scratch was avocado? I thought scratch came in a little box from the grocery store.

Since he made it AND I saw all of the ingredients going in AND they didn’t look too terrible (except the scratch was kind of iffy) AND since he was a lot bigger than me, I managed to get a chip’s worth of it in my mouth without grimacing or holding my nose.

My tastebuds grew three sizes that day.

Garlic and lime were rocking out to the rolling creaminess. Diced tomatoes (AKA the little red things) sang backup. I had a fever and the only prescription was more corn chips.

Faster than you could clang a cowbell, I became a guacamole aficionado.

Okay, that’s a bit of a stretch, but I am definitely a fan.

I just had to get over MY preconceptions and ITS appearance and TRY it.

As a child, I did NOT like lettuce, broccoli, or celery. And no matter how strong it was supposed to make you, I was certain only Popeye ever liked spinach. As an adult, I grew to like most of those foods. EXCEPT celery. I will never be a fan of the dirty water taste and stringy crunch.

I wondered, was it right to judge a food based on the fact that it was the same color as other foods? Poor guacamole. I have done you wrong.  

But it was also mushy, lumpy, and cold. At least mushy and lumpy mashed potatoes are warm.

Then I realized I was allowing the food’s appearance keep me from trying it. 

What other foods have I missed out on because they looked different than what I was used to?

What EXPERIENCES have I missed out on for those same reasons?

How many PEOPLE I have missed out on…

I realized it was simply fear, mostly fear of the unknown. Fear of guacamole was only one of its manifestations.

I have this fantastic book, filled with every day wisdom, called the Bible, and NOWHERE does it say “Be AFRAID.” In fact, 365 times it says DO NOT be afraid.
It says be strong and courageous. Trust. Have faith. Go forward. Taste and see that the guac is good (1 Food Chronicles 11:1, The Debbie Translation).

Fear is not a reason to not do something. It’s not even a reason, it’s a feeling. Don’t let a fleeting, fickle feeling tell you what to do. Or what to eat. Or who to get to know.

I learned to reserve judgment until I investigate. To really see what goes into them. To decide if I can trust the one feeding me the information. And go from there.

Ya know, all of this is making me hungry. If you need me, I’ll be at the nearest Mexican restaurant.

Hmmm…I used to be afraid of cheesecake too…

#bethelove  #tryityoumightlikeit #fearisabigfatguacamolehatingliar
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