Whole 30: Day 23 – My Body is a Work of Art, and So is Yours
I’m passionate about this body I’ve been given.
I am my body’s best advocate, caregiver, and disciplinary. I haven’t always been this way though. There were times I disliked my body and hurt it through excess food, exercise, drink, or even through the lack of those things, rest, and sleep. However, my relationship with my body has changed over the years, and it will continue to change.
But this one thing I know: I’ve never loved my body more than I love it now.
For the last few years, I’ve learned what my body can do physically and how it supports me. I’ve learned that my body knows what I need more than I do, and I need to listen to it. I’ve also learned just how intricate, vast, and intelligent God created our bodies to be.
Back to Health Class
Let me take you back to health class where you first learned about all of the various systems our bodies are comprised of. You learned about all the various systems that work together in our body: digestive, cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, immune/lymphatic, endocrine, urinary, reproductive, skeletal and integumentary systems.
For most of us, we learned about these systems just enough to get by with a good grade. However, when I look back, I should have known how fascinated I would be with the human body because in health class, I was absolutely taken aback by how complex, yet amazing our bodies were created to be. Even now, it blows my mind at the fact that while I’m typing this, my brain is signaling to my fingers what letters and words to type, and that I have memorized where those keys are on the keyboard. It blows my mind how I’m involuntarily breathing in oxygen now and exhaling carbon dioxide. It blows my mind how eating a sweet potato after my workout sends glucose to my muscles and liver to be stored for future use.
Doesn’t that just blow your mind?!
One of the Greatest Creations
My friends, the human body is one of the greatest creations every made, and more so than that, God says in Genesis 1 that this body, this person, is made in His image. Paul goes on to state in Corinthians that our bodies are the temples of the living God where His Spirit dwells.
Who am I that I would be made in the image of God? Who am I that God has deemed this body worthy to dwell in? Who am I? Well according to all of that, I am a human being made in the image of God and that qualifies my body as worth it.
You see, this 5 foot 6 inch body, with a long torso and medium size legs, brown eyes and loose curly hair, big feet, strong arms, and my momma’s hips, is a WORK OF ART.
This body is worth being passionate about. This body is worth learning about. This body is worth the money, time and effort I spend to take care of it. This body is priceless.
And my friend, so is yours. No question about it – so.is.yours.
My friends, my prayer is for you too to come to a point where you not only love your body, but are passionate about it. My prayer is that you will see that your body is a work of art, right now where it’s at. Don’t start loving yourself when you’ve obtained the body you’ve always wanted. Love yourself now, love your body now, love who you are now. Your body is one of the greatest gifts you’ve been given to steward and take care of. So do just that, take care of it by treating it with respect, love, and grace.
23 days of Whole 30 and I’m feeling great. I’ve come to appreciate my body more than I ever have before. I’ve learned to listen to what it needs (sleep, water, carbs, protein, probiotics, fat, etc) and have learned to give it what it needs. I’ve learned how fun creating meals can be, and how tiring it can be to plan your meals as well.
Yet most of all, I’ve learned what a gift my body is and how I want to commit the rest of my life to caring for it and to empower and lead others to do the exact same.
A Challenge to You
I want to challenge you to answer the following questions, honestly:
1) What do you think about your body?
2) What do you think about the way your body looks?
3) What do you think about the things your body can do?
4) List 10 things you love about your body. Post this list where you can see it daily.
5) Share at least one of those things with someone.
