So many things can go wrong with the human body. And we are learning more about how the mind and body and spirit affect each other. I had a young friend that had a very difficult time telling when he was feeling bad (depressed) versus when he was feeling badly (physically ill) which lead to an unfortunately high frequency of self-medication making the whole mess worse.
How do we decided what to tackle first when we are feeling poorly? There is the first line defense of healthy eating, physical exercise and meeting stress face-on. There are many opportunities to be an informed consumer as we decide what kinds of medical options to choose. There are lifestyle changes that can improve outcomes and restore health if the changes are made early and wisely.
But, in the larger sense, health challenges are part of life's overall challenges. The wisest among us use their health challenges to examine the assumptions and habits that have accumulated over a lifetime, sometimes with little intentionality. And they become wiser, kinder and stronger in spirit even while their body is under siege.
I was blessed to spend time with a friend recently who exemplifies this spirit of wringing every bit of personal growth possible from a truly frightening and exhausting situation. Her health is currently very good and anyone not knowing her past challenges would see her terrific smile and positive outlook and never guess at what it cost to embrace living a more aware and intentional life.
God promises to make use of every challenge and difficulty that our soul, our most essential being faces. God promises that our essential self will have the choice of looking for the possible in every situation. Whatever heartbreaking, scary, sad challenge you are facing, the situation contains the seeds of hope.
Start a conversation with your Creator, Savior, Holy Spirit. God longs to comfort you, guide you, instruct you, love you, offer you hope, remind you how valuable you are...how uniquely, wonderfully made.
Lord, use this hard time to make my spirit live again.
Help my spirit become strong and healthy.
Help me become well!
Help me live again! Isaiah 38:16 (ERV)
How do we decided what to tackle first when we are feeling poorly? There is the first line defense of healthy eating, physical exercise and meeting stress face-on. There are many opportunities to be an informed consumer as we decide what kinds of medical options to choose. There are lifestyle changes that can improve outcomes and restore health if the changes are made early and wisely.
But, in the larger sense, health challenges are part of life's overall challenges. The wisest among us use their health challenges to examine the assumptions and habits that have accumulated over a lifetime, sometimes with little intentionality. And they become wiser, kinder and stronger in spirit even while their body is under siege.
I was blessed to spend time with a friend recently who exemplifies this spirit of wringing every bit of personal growth possible from a truly frightening and exhausting situation. Her health is currently very good and anyone not knowing her past challenges would see her terrific smile and positive outlook and never guess at what it cost to embrace living a more aware and intentional life.
God promises to make use of every challenge and difficulty that our soul, our most essential being faces. God promises that our essential self will have the choice of looking for the possible in every situation. Whatever heartbreaking, scary, sad challenge you are facing, the situation contains the seeds of hope.
Start a conversation with your Creator, Savior, Holy Spirit. God longs to comfort you, guide you, instruct you, love you, offer you hope, remind you how valuable you are...how uniquely, wonderfully made.
Lord, use this hard time to make my spirit live again.
Help my spirit become strong and healthy.
Help me become well!
Help me live again! Isaiah 38:16 (ERV)
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