Physical Health and Mental Health

How many of us set aside our physical health as we go through life? 

We get complacent. 

We neglect being intentional about what we are putting into our bodies. 

We eat out of stress or out of boredom.

I remember coming back from my 8 years in Europe
 and being stunned at how many Americans are unhealthy. 

It is not just an excess of weight.... 

It is the gallons of soda and fast foods that we consume. 

It is the thought that as long as you are skinny you are healthy.
It is the convenience of driving everywhere
It is the desk jobs
It is the fad diets
It is the neglect of the bodies God gave us.

When I am bored or depressed or stressed. I eat because it is something to do. I find myself eating without tasting what I am putting into my mouth which causes me to feel bloated and heavy...On the flip side, I have a history of forgetting to eat. and thus my mind loses its sharpness. 

God created our bodies and minds to need fuel. If I do not drink enough water, I become lethargic. Similarly, if I do not eat enough protein I become listless. 

I have been on a journey for about 5 years to be healthy spiritually, mentally and physically. 

On this journey, 

I lost 50 pounds, 

worked through some emotional traumas, 

found God leading me to the Catholic church where my spiritual life has grown,

married the love of my life,

gained 40 pounds and then had a beautiful baby boy,

worked through more emotional traumas

discovered a great system of nutrional products

and am now working on my emotional, physical and spiritual health with the help of the Holy Spirit

I hope to share this journey with you and hope that you will share the journey with me. We do better when we are in community. It is part of our spiritual and mental health to be in relationship with others

Health: Spiritual, Mental and Physical

I am continually struck by how God calls us to be Healthy
 Spiritually, Mentally and Physically.

We are not to neglect the body for the mind or the spirit for the body or any other combination.

In my 40 plus years of life, I have neglected one for the other often. 

I can hear myself saying: 

I only have 2 hours, I will sit with Jesus and not go work out. 

OR... 

I need to get fit, I am sure Jesus understands. 

OR... 

I don't have time to meet with a counselor or a spiritual director, I need to work out my body. 

Any number of these ways of thinking puts me at an overall disadvantage. 

On my journey to be healthy, I have been through depression, burnout, lack of finances, and lack of available time. I have used all of these as excuses to not care of some part of my health.

I did not know how much better my mental and spiritual health would be when my physical health was good... until recently. They all work together. When I am physically healthy, I am more mentally healthy. and when I am mentally healthy, I am more spiritually healthy. 

I remember hearing a man who loves God say, "I want to be in the best physical shape I can be so I have no excuses if God calls me to do something." That stuck with me. 

Our bodies are a temple for the Holy Spirit and yet we often leave the temple in shambles. 

I am on a journey to be in the best spiritual, mental and physical shape I can be. 

Will you join me?