Health Coaching: When Dreams become Reality.
The dream began in November 2014. I was traveling to Tampa to meet with Tomy for our friend’s wedding, when I started to pray and journal on the flight. I started to reflect on God’s redeeming hand over my health and was overwhelmed by how different I was then, then I was a year and a half ago. I started to remember my high school years where I feared food and over-exercised, then quickly fell in love with food and overate when the pressure of senior year came. I remembered my broken relationship with food, exercise, and myself continuing in college where I used food to console my deepest hurts and temporarily meet my deepest longings. Then, I remembered the first time in 2010 when I allowed God to come close to my soul and speak life and healing over me, turning to Him instead of food. It was that year his redeeming work began to unfold, and heal me, and mold me into a different woman. He used various avenues and people to conduct this redeeming work – First Place 4 Health (Christian Health based program), Crossfit, my Christian community, my coaches, my best friends, prayer, His Word, etc.
As I realized all of this on that plane ride, my heart was overwhelmed with the wonder of God and I knew I couldn’t keep this redemption to myself, I knew he was calling me to walk along with others to be made well by His love and direction, I knew he was calling me to lead others in the area of holistic health. So I journalled and dreamed of what could be. I dreamed of leading a group of people in the area of physical health, emotional health, spiritual health and mental health. I dreamed of all the possible names this group could be. I dreamed of sharing the freedom I now had with food and exercised. I dreamed of seeing others Made Well. Then I gave God that dream and asked Him to do with it what He wanted.
Over the next few months, the dream wouldn’t go away but kept popping up almost every day during my time with Jesus. While doing research, I was led to a nutrition school called “Institute of Integrative Nutrition” that trained individuals to be a health coach and walk alongside people in being health in every area of their life – my passion exactly. However, at the time, I told myself it was just a dream, that I would never be able to do the program or lead others in that way. Yet, as I shared the program and my dream with others, every single person not only affirmed this dream and calling, but discussed with me possible ways to live this dream out, to let it become reality. It was through the constant word of God through my community, that I knew I couldn’t give up, I had to hold fast that God placed this desire in my heart and that he is faithful.
So I waited. I prayed. and waited some more. I told Jesus that if he was calling me to this, he had to provide the funds, the time, and the way.
And you want to know something? He did because that is who He is – Faithful. Roughly 8 months after dreaming, praying, planning and waiting, God provided the funds, the time and the way. Just yesterday, July 1st, 2015, I enrolled as a student at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition to take their year-long course to be a Health Coach.
I cannot begin to say how humbled I am by God, His redemption, His grace, and His provision. I cannot begin to praise God for His faithfulness through the ages. I cannot begin to thank everyone for their support to this point. And I cannot wait to see others Made Well.
My only response is this:
“Because Your loving kindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hand sin Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.” – Psalm 63:3-5
So my exhortation to you is this: Never (ever) give up on the dreams God has given you, for He who promised you it, is always faithful and reliable.
