"Always cooking and eating healthy food will not make you truly healthy. Having a heart full of life-giving, generous, lay-down-your-life love will." Passionate Homemaking
There is a sweet elderly woman by the name of Emma with whom I get together with on a monthly basis. She is one of the kindest, most giving and content beings I know. She is strong and healthy for her age ... a little overweight perhaps, but it doesn't slow her down.
I mention this because she loves sweets. Especially chocolate! When her grandchildren come to her home for a visit they ask, "Grandma, where are the 'vitamins'?" That's just what she calls her chocolate goodies - vitamins!
I've had her on my mind more than usual the last couple of months. Mostly because in my mind sugar has been a four lettered word! And yet here she is - someone who loves her sweets and she's old, vibrant and happy.
I can't help but believe that happy is a key word here. She is continually serving others as she serves the Lord and I believe that this is what keeps her happiest and healthiest of all.
It's easy to get caught up in trying to feed our families - or ourselves - the best of the best! But once it begins to consume our lives and be something we obsess over, stress over or feel anxiety about - it tends to become an idol of one kind or another and causes, in more ways than one, more damage than good - Is something being sacrificed for the idol of health?
Yes, it's good to make the efforts to eat healthy. Yes, it's good to learn the truths about what to feed our families. But most importantly it's good to live a life filled with the peace that comes when we trust in the Lord, knowing that as we steadily educate ourselves on matters that we feel driven to learn the Lord will place wisdom and knowledge in our path in its own time and way.
In return He trusts us to use wisdom and prudence in how we go about handling the bits of good information we receive by using "moderation in all things" and keeping a good balance of all things He has blessed us with (family, friends, opportunities of service, personal time etc.) .
"Fear is slavery. God designed food for our enjoyment. He gave Peter permission to kill and eat. God had made all these food items clean through the blood of Christ (Acts 10:13-15)...This means that when done in a spirit of thanksgiving, we can enjoy the glorious flavors of God’s creation with joy."
Learning the truths of living a healthy life and raising healthy children is important but what's more important is living a life in peace and balance ... even if that means we used white flour instead of wheat one day!
Heavenly Father knows the efforts we are making and the desires held within our hearts and He will bless us for those. We cannot and should not fear but instead calmly press forward, taking small steps in our efforts to live a healthy life as we continually keep a well balanced life which will allow us the time and energy to attend to all important things.
I believe Heavenly Father wouldn't want it any other way.
We just watched the movie Tuck Everlasting last night and it's overall message fed the thoughts that have been growing within me:
"Do not fear death - but rather the unlived life."
Photo credit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/04/prweb2354734.htm
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