Being Healthy

If you have been around me at all the past few months, then you have probably had a conversation with me about organic food, raw milk, or alternative sweeteners. I confess, this new way of thinking has taken me by storm and I've changed quite a bit. I would say the change is for the better, but, as always, danger lurks.

I have to be careful for many reasons. Cutting out refined carbs did nothing to further kill the sin that remains within me, I am sad to report.

First of all, I have to remember that I do what I can. I am not a bad mother if my kids eat non-grass fed beef or a conventionally grown apple. I am not sacrificing their health and well-being if a Teddy Graham passes throught their digestive system. It's easy to feel defeated and overwhelmed, especially with the staggering amount of information available. I do the best I can. I try new things and make small changes. I can't expect to have arrived yet. I just want to be headed in the right direction.

Secondly, I have to remember that the body is important, but the soul is infinitely more important. No matter how clogged or clear your arteries are, they aren't coming with you when you die. So if I nurture my kids bodies, but neglect their spirits, I've essentially accomplished nothing. I have to keep in mind that the point of having a healthy body is to be fit for the work that a healthy spirit longs to do.

Thirdly, I can't compare myself to others. If I compare myself to the crunchy, granola, earth mother who makes, grows, or churns everything her family eats whilst wearing a handsewn frock and Toms, then I'll become defeated. If I compare myself to a friend who is at a similar place that I am in and striving for the same goals that I am, I'll become competitive. If I compare myself to the mom who serves Totinos pizza rolls and Dr. Pepper in a sippy cup for dinner on a t.v. tray, I'll think more highly of myself than I ought.

And all of that is pride, which is, of course, sin.

So as I commit to being a faithful overseer of my family's diet, I have to strive for balance. I want to be healthy and enjoy God's good design in food. I want to take pleasure in all He has given. I want to be loving and kind. I want patience extended to me as I figure it all out and I want to the same for others.

Being a mom is hard enough. Let's encourage each other as we strive to give our families the best that we can by God's grace.