Understanding Health

For those of you who have kept up with my and blog personally know some of my story, I have always dealt with the issue of self-image. Like many women, I have felt the difficult struggle of being completely dissatisfied with my body-image. This sin, this tangible feeling of shame and disgust, kept me from understanding beauty from the eyes of the Creator. Unhappiness with my body image didn't allow me to understand how I was created in the image of the Lord. With recent freedom from this struggle, I have become so open to my body (in a good way, not in the 'I want to run in the street naked' kind of way). I have become more comfortable wearing shorts or tank tops, actually wearing a bathing suit and not cringing at myself, and just feeling confident in how I look. This appreciation and acceptance has come with much prayer, solitude, and understanding of the Lord. It has come with knowing what beauty is, and how to not be manipulated by media and our society.

Nearly two months ago, my boyfriend and I became vegetarians. We decided that eliminating meat from our diets would encourage us to eat healthier options. Since starting this diet, it has not been about losing weight. The goal has been live a healthier lifestyle. With being vegetarians we also cut out fast food, a lot of fats and sugars, most processed foods, and try to eat mostly organic or healthy foods. Let's just say we consume a lot of fruits and veggies. Since becoming a vegetarian, combined with living an active lifestyle, my body has been loving every second of it; I just feel better, I have more energy, I don't get so tired quickly in the day, and bad/greasy foods have become less and less desirable for me. It has been one of the most beneficial things I have done for my body in so long. In terms of literal results, I have already gone down a dress size. Again, this entire thing is not to lose weight. Before this diet, I was almost close to being overweight on my BMI scale (just barely hitting the limit.) Knowing I've begun to lose fat reminds me that being healthy is incredible and much more important than looking good. Before this 180 degree turn in my views of my body, I thought it was all about being smaller, looking better. But now I have realized it is about honoring this body that was made in the image of the Lord by being healthy and not purposefully allowing yourself to do things that are harmful to your body. Yes there will always be work to do, but cutting out bad foods is a major step in the process and something we don't realize in a country saturated in unhealthy things everywhere we look.

"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." – 1 Corinthians 6:1-20

This verse applies to many different areas, whether it be physically or spiritually, I have been commanded to honor God with my body, and lately physically honoring God with my health has been a great conviction in my life. In sharing this growth, I don't hope you convert to vegetarianism or stop drinking soda, I just pray you wisely consider what "honoring God with your body" means to you.