One of my brothers is a medic. He is so enthusiastically organic that his forehead could be biannually stamped by the soil association. He keeps a pristine allotment the size of a modest tennis court and grows fascinatingly beautiful and useful things there. He also eats what my husband affectionately terms as ‘retirement bread’. You know, the sort made up of mung beans, kibbled wheat and a handful of matured bark? This is the kind of loaf that sits smugly on delicatessen shelves, wrapped in hand-sewn paper, furnished with a pricetag of ï¿¡3.40. So heavy is this delicacy that you attempt to pick it up and your arm dislocates…

If you are what you eat, my children would come out dazzlingly white and covered in plastic. I, however, would be both rectangular, and regular. My latest shameful addiction is , wait for it, ‘All Bran.’ Oh no! Is this my age? Should brown sticks of such bland boringness really ever be eaten every day for months with such affection by one so creative? Is that not just plain wrong? Help me someone!

But actually I don’t necessarily wholly agree with the premise that we are what we eat.
Food is important yeah, and I am disciplined about what I eat, especially in this season of feeding my baby, but I think it much more likely that we are who we MEET, especially in our formative years. The people we are surrounded by shape our goals, dreams and view of ourselves. If we mix with high flyers, this will surely encourage us to raise our game. Conversely, if we spend time with those who aim low in life (and miss) this will impact us for ill.

In the last couple of years, I’ve met some incredible people. I’ve also met some dangerous ones. People can heal or hurt, delight or damage, praise or poison, love or loath us. All of which have consequences that last way into the future.

Choosing your ‘diet’ of relationships is vital to your health. Get it wrong and it could cause all sorts of problems. Get it right and untold blessings ensue.
So, do you mind me asking, who is in your inner circle?
Are they doing you good? Do they make you more like Jesus?
Are you returning the favour?

I am incredibly careful who I let in to my private world. The result is that I have very few truly close friends. But they are all worth their weight in retirement bread.