For the longest time, I always heard that the body is a temple. for me that always meant to try to avoid sin. Do the right thing and not focus on anything that was harmful. But while I completely took the spiritual parts seriously, I now must admit that I neglected the most obvious part: my physical body.
[Tweet “We always make an excuse not to do something, until it’s decided for us. #health #bodysoul”]
You know that your bodies are parts of the body of Christ. (1. Cor. 6:16)
Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to you but to God. (1. Cor. 6:19)
Yes, I still take into account of the spiritual meaning of the words, but now I am driven to take the physics meaning of these words as well. As the gatekeeper of food for this family, I have to think about what this means for us. As of now my family has different dietary needs. Some are allergic to peanuts, and others can’t handle wheat-gluten. Everyone needs something different.
Since October, I have tried a new eating plan for myself. I have started an elimination diet. I wanted to find something that was ideal for my health. I didn’t start it to lose weight, although I won’t complain about the 40lbs that I have lost so far. I didn’t start for variety reasons either, but it has improved my skin, completion, and my health in ways that I didn’t know until I went for my checkup.
[Tweet “Find out the real reason you want to make changes in your life. #mind-body #health #bodytemple”]
What I have learned is that my body is indeed a temple. It is a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. For it to be a true temple, I must not defile it with junk and nonsense. There are times when I see people eat things that I have given up, and there is a sense of missing out. I try my best to not to dwell on the things that I cannot eat anymore and instead of focus on the positive parts. How I’m feeling, my energy, and my happiness.
It took a long time to get to this point-almost a year to be exact, and so far I have gone through this journey alone while my family watched from the sidelines. I’m am even sure that my children have questioned why I stopped eating pizza, commercial oils, and other common staples (or what used to be staples) in my home. They have seen me take bags of food and jars out of the house and never saw those products again. And the job is not done yet! They are still seeing more changes in our home.
[Tweet “There is always the feeling of ‘missing out’ until I remind myself how great I feel. “]
Through this yearly transition I have learned that life changes like these take time. My family will appreciate the changes in time (my husband already does since he’s been losing weight). Our health will only get better as we improve our lifestyle as time goes on.
There are few things that I must still do: remove facial and hair products from my one that are loaded with chemicals. These harmful chemicals forces our bodies to work hard to remove the toxins from our bodies. I still have tons of body products, make up (from my make up phase), and anything else that I can think of (except my nail polish).
I am thankful that my husband has been on board 100% even though it means that a lot of personal care products will be removed from the house (not to mention the money that was spent on those products).
[Tweet “Our bodies are temples, and we should treat it as such. #mindbodyconnection”]
Aside from all that, I understand. I truly understand when Saint Paul meant that our bodies are a temple. No only do we have to be careful with how we live, but we also must remember what we put on it, in it, and surround it with. It all matters.
To be a better example for my kids, and to show my love for God, I must no only take care of my spiritual life. While I love to pray and read inspirational books about the Saints, but I also must show them that there is a physical and mental part is just as important as the spiritual part.
[Tweet “I must show a better example to my family and take care of the mind and the body. #wholebody #health #healing”]
The body is a temple, there is no excuse to not be healthy.
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