Generational Goals – Health

The other day I saw an Instagram video of a couple working out together, very similar to how my husband Ceaser and I do. But there was a difference, a huge difference. This couple, both man and wife, were slim and fit. The husband did his pull-ups so effortlessly, almost as if he were showing off. As I watched, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “Why do they even need to work out? They’re already slim.” I won’t lie, I have always had this backward thinking in the recesses of my mind. I think that’s why I struggle with maintaining my weight. In my mind, I desperately want an arrival point when the goal has been met and the self-inflicted dietary and exercise “torture” ends. I love to cook and eat good food, I support Cadbury ministries, I mean manufacturers, quite faithfully and while I enjoy working out, I don’t want to have to do it every day. The Lord is still working on some things in me.

I’ve heard it said that health is wealth and when I look at people whose physical appearance I admire and even aspire to, they all have one thing in common, they never “arrive.” They maintain their physical health by sticking to certain boundaries continually. Yes, boundaries, and yes, continually. In recent years, the understanding and employment of boundaries with others has become more common, in my circles at least. But have you ever thought about the boundaries you employ on yourself? That moment when you pass the chocolate in the grocery store knowing you need to eat less sugar, but no one is watching, so what do you do? What about when you no longer have a workout buddy, do you still do the workout?

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.” ~ 3 John 1:2

“Don’t you realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you at a high price. So you must honour God with your body.” ~ 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Health, according to the World Health Organization, is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity”. Again, it is with some level of backwards thinking that we sometimes attribute health to just our physical bodies, forgetting that as the soul goes, so goes the body. The soul is the expression of our mind, will, and emotions. I find it interesting that the definition by the World Health Organisation mentions social well-being. I think it has always been so, but now with the added layer of social media, our social well-being holds major stakes in how we esteem ourselves and the ongoing state of our souls. All this being true, let’s be honest, managing our physical, mental and emotional health in a way that benefits us while simultaneously displaying healthy habits for generations coming behind us to adopt doesn’t seem all that spiritual. It takes a keen look at scripture to reveal God’s heart about our overall health. The other day during worship at church, one of the songs reminded me that God is indeed the lover of my soul. He has an interest in our well-being and our health. God’s plan for each of us is to live long satisfying lives walking out our purpose and bringing honour to His name. We can’t exactly partner with this plan if we are not purposeful about stewarding our health well.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reminds us that our bodies are not our own, they belong to our loving God. We are simply stewards which means that God has expectations of how we are handling what He has entrusted to us. Understanding that the stewardship of our physical bodies is directly connected to the spiritual stewardship of the assignments God has given each of us will help us stay the course even when we grow weary. Meeting and maintaining our health goals will require practicality and consistency. Here are a few practical things we keep at the forefront of our minds as we pursue good health.

Identify and create healthy environments

Something I have realised, and come to appreciate, over the years is that the environments and spaces we spend the majority of our time in have the power to drive our mood and overall productivity. My husband calls me the Tidy-up Queen because I am always tidying up, a habit I learned from my mother. Now that I have small children, this habit has come in very handy and I can see that my bambinos are learning the importance of it as they watch me. This is because, for me, a messy space makes it difficult for me to think. Even at work, whenever I would hit a wall and find it difficult to complete a task, I would take a break by tidying up and clearing the workspace I shared with two colleagues of any clutter. At the tail end of the ten to fifteen minutes of filing and packing away equipment not being used, I could refocus, think and work better. The same is true in my home, once Caleb and Chiara are in bed, a quick sweep of the living room makes it possible for me and Ceaser to truly relax for the evening.  Discovering and paying attention to what calms us and what gets us in a peaceful mood is important because armed with this information we can do simple but impactful things to turn our work and home spaces into healthy and happy environments.

Prioritise mental health

Unfortunately in our African, particularly Zambian, context, references to mental health aren’t always positive. For some reason, we have been groomed to believe that mental health means one is crazy. This isn’t true, the apostle John alludes to how natural concern and maintenance of our mental health should be in the salutation of his third epistle. The overarching heart of John in all three of his letters was that of intimacy and fellowship with God and other believers. I would argue that such intimacy would be impossible if we did not prioritise healthy ways by which we handle stress, healthy boundaries in our relationships, and wisdom in our decision-making. All these things, and more, play a part in our mental well-being. Discovering and prioritising how we regulate and maintain our mental health is key. As we purposefully practice these things, openly sharing with our children why we do them and how they help us honour God in our bodies, we will take huge leaps at making mental health less of a taboo subject.

Pay attention to diet and movement

I think we all know that eating the right amount of the right food and staying physically active is the recipe for good weight maintenance. Why is it more difficult for some than others? Well, genetics do play a role but I think the major thing is understanding and accepting our bodies. If we can stop ourselves from comparing our physique to that of the next person, maybe we can begin to understand and love our bodies, how they work and what they respond to. Part of this is also accepting that we are ageing. Yes, I said it. Growing older isn’t a bad thing, it is a blessing to be able to age while many die young. Accepting that we are not as young as we used to be will mean that we pay attention to how certain foods are reacting differently to our bodies than they used to, remember to take supplements, track our water intake, get enough sleep and stretch. All practical things that we can teach our children to do as we endeavour to do better too.

Trust God’s partnership with medicine

I would be amiss if I didn’t mention that part of setting good generational health goals entails us trusting that God cares enough about our bodies to heal them when they are broken or sick. One mistake we sometimes make as we relate to God is putting Him in the box of familiarity. God can heal us in whatever way He wishes. Sometimes, this involves medicine. God is the creator of all things. No man is wise of his own accord without God having given that wisdom. God has a beautifully unique partnership with medicine which if overlooked, will hinder our healing. So yes, let us call for the elders of the church to lay hands on us and pray when we are ill, let’s speak life over our situations and receive healing for ourselves, and let’s also use wisdom by visiting a physician, trusting fully that the God we serve is more than able to give them wisdom that will serve us and lead us to our healing.

I want to meet and maintain my health goals and am paying more attention to what I am teaching my children about how they can care for their bodies. But more than just a number on the scale, comfortably fitting my favourite jeans or even good endurance during a run, I want to live long enough to change my generation and show the ones coming behind how it’s done with grace and commitment. I’m sure you do too, so I encourage you to pay attention to yourself and stay the course.