Donuts have to be among the unhealthiest foods that you can eat.  The combination of sugar and fat and other poisons that we enjoy so much are packed into one little piece of scrumptious pastry with a hole in the middle.

Doctors tell us to avoid excessive white flour, sugar, and bad fats.  The older we get the more important such principles of good dieting come into play.  I saw a notable exception to such guidelines last week.

While I was leaving the produce section at HEB (you notice I said produce section), I observed a very elderly couple choosing several varieties of fresh donuts from the bakery at HEB.  The man was confined to a wheel chair, so his wife was securing his selections for him.  It was a very touching scene.  I had an image of them going back to their home and enjoying their treat together over a cup of coffee.

There is no doubt that both of them have doctors telling them to watch their diet.  At their age, there is a strong probability that one or both of them are taking daily medicines that their physician has prescribed.  But I also noted that neither one of them is overweight.  Could it be that a regiment of donuts occasionally is good for one’s health? 

I would argue that a regiment of donuts is good particularly for relational health.  I am assuming my elderly couple has been married for years. Perhaps one of the keys to their long marriage is enjoying the small bonuses in life like a shared donut.  It is obvious by their physical appearance that they have not made it a daily event!

The truth is: donuts are good for your health.  I would add that finding all kinds of simple pleasures that can be enjoyed with those we love add joy to our lives. Americans have fallen into the trap of thinking that gestures of love must be expensive, complicated, and grand to be meaningful.  That is simply not true.

Simplicity is meaningful.

I did have more thought as I observed the two little love birds at HEB.  I was camped out in the produce section buying grapes and lettuce,and they were choosing donuts! It occurred to me that something was dreadfully wrong with that picture.  Next trip to HEB I am hightailing it to the bakery.  After all donuts are good for your relational health….