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| We are a spirit, which has a soul, which lives in a body. The three parts that make up YOU. |
Most people
start the New Year off with a New Year’s resolution. No sooner is one made with sincerity and a
heartfelt promise of commitment, than 30 days later – it’s broken. I chuckled to myself as on January 1st
I pulled into the parking lot of my gym to discover it completely packed. As I gathered my gym bag, my ear phones and
my membership card out of my car, I giggled as I thought, “Yep – here are all
the New Year’s Resoluters, by the end of January they will all have petered out.” Well, maybe that is not exact – 50% will have
petered out…
Two years ago I
began a workout program, Couch to 5K.
When I started it I kind of snorted and was like, “Me, run? Yeah, RIGHT.”
I have never been a sports minded individual. Come on now, I was your theatre major! Didn’t
care for it, didn’t watch it on TV and couldn’t care less which team/individual won (shhhhh I’m from Massachusetts – let me be “politically correct” and say, “Go
Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots!!!”), yet with being a cancer survivor I have become
more aware how important it is to be healthy.
Over the last two years I have become a runner. On the treadmill mind you, not outside… I
haven’t graduated to that point yet. I
prefer the treadmill. I grab my headset
and my iPhone, put on the Couch to 10K Program (I graduated from the 5K) and I
get lost in my country music and the program.
I call it, “running away.” There
is a saying that if you try something for 21 days it becomes a habit. I determined in my head that I was going to run
and like it! I held on to that
determination like someone riding a stationary bull – and I won!
To my surprise
what I discovered is that our soul (which includes are mind, will and emotions),
our body and our spirit really do go hand in hand. We are a spirit; we have a soul which lives
in a body. How one is treated affects
the other two. You have probably heard
the saying, “you are what you eat?” I
never paid that much mind. I was more
like, “yeah, yeah, yeah.” But it is
TRUE. Certain foods not only make you
build up fat, but also make you feel sluggish.
They are yummy and most are comfort foods or things we eat out of habit,
but they do affect your weight, your health and how you go about your day. They
also affect how you feel about yourself.
If you don’t care about your weight, you won’t do anything to make
yourself healthier. Or maybe you’ll
never give it any other thought – until you go see the doctor for a physical
and you discover that your cholesterol is high, your blood sugars are high or
you are a great candidate for a stroke or heart attack. Or, like me – you get diagnosed with
cancer. Talk about a wakeup call! How
you treat your body, matters. The Bible
tells us:
“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
6:19-20)
Talk about responsibility! I am not, never been and never will be a “gym
rat.” You can go from one extreme to another
– but the truth of the matter is, your body is only one part of the equation, you
also have your soul (mind, will and emotions) and your spirit. The key is balance. I have discovered that if I don’t go for a
run, it affects my mind and brings my spirit down. They say that exercising sets off endorphins
that endorse mood-boosting chemicals that combat depression. Personally, I have found that to be true. I
have jokingly told people that, “I don’t drink (except for an occasional glass
of wine or hard lemonade), I don’t smoke, and I’m currently *not* in a
relationship – so when I get stressed, for relief, I run! And it picks up my mood, makes me feel better
(and also makes those that are around me WANT to be around me! LOL). It helps my mood, which picks up my
spirit. I’ve blogged about this before,
but the truth of the matter is we are a being that consists of three parts and
they need to be balanced. We need to
take care of our bodies, our soul and our spirit.
In terms of our minds,
the Bible tells us that we need to guard our minds. It is the battlefield in which ol’slewfoot
tries to discourage us or trip us up.
“Be renewed in the spirit of your mind,” (Ephesians 4:23)
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever
is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think
about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind
is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)
“I keep every thought under control in
order to make it obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:6)
This is one
reason why it is important to read your Bible and get the Word into you. It protects your s0ul (mind, will &
emotions) and feeds your spirit. You
see? We are one being made up of three
parts, body, soul (mind, will and emotions), and spirit. It is through our spirit that we are able to
have fellowship with God. Our spiritual
health has a significant impact on our emotional health and our physical
health.
For myself, as I
contemplated the changes I want to occur in my walk with God and in my life for
2015, I suppose you could say that my “New Year’s Resolution” is one where I have
decided that I need to be attentive to the three parts of “me” -My body,
my soul (mind, will & emotions), and my spirit, try to maintain a healthy
balance between the three. I believe in
doing so, I will experience a wellness of my soul, contentment in my life, continued physical health and a
new maturity and understanding in my walk with God.
“Jesus replied:'Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'”(Matthew 22:37)
What are your
goals for this New Year? What changes
can you make for yourself which will benefit all three parts of you? Once you become aware of the fact that you
consist of a body, soul and spirit you start to realize when one is being neglected
how it affects the other two. It’s kind
of a juggling act.
It’s ALL about
YOU. If you haven’t thought about it,
maybe it’s time you did? Or as Jesus
said:
“Now may
the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul
and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.” (1
Thessalonians 5:23)
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