Part 1 Pulse Check: Creation

So what does the world of health look like?  What does health look like when it was created in God’s eyes?    Health is harmony of the mind, body and spirit towards God’s will.  Health feels good.  It smells good, it tastes good, it sounds good, and it looks good.  We know what it is like to have health.  We also know what it is like to not have health.  Health can be very hard for some people to obtain.  When we were given the freedom to make choices, the implications of those choices are often played out in our health and the health of generations to come. 

Health is not defined by society.  What may be healthy for one individual may be a different level of health for another.  Many societal ideas on “health” can actually be unhealthy.  Healthy is not solely defined by the absence of disease.   Having infirmity does not necessarily mean you are not healthy.  Health is different for different people at different points in time.  Health is not the status quo or stagnant.  Levels of health change.  Loss of a health level can be devastating, but gains in health can be an amazing experience.  Sometimes we need to have a health shock before we realize we aren’t as healthy as we thought we were. 

We are told from so many directions what health is and what we should be doing for our health.  Sometimes everything we are doing or should be doing gets a little overwhelming and can also make us unhealthy with worry.  We have forgotten how to know ourselves and our balances and to align our mind, body, and spirit health.  Sometimes we have to make decisions about our health that feel right to our gut, but fly in the face of conventional wisdom.  This is okay.  This can be healthy too.

 

Our bodies were meant to move.  When we do not take care of our bodies, we cannot do the work we are called to do: as mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter, coworker, parishioner, colleague, leader, or follower.  Because so much of the activity in our lives has been taken over by technology, we need to figure out how to move our bodies to God’s will to keep it going. 

Disease is not of God.  God is with us through our illnesses.  It is easy to blame God when health fails.  Sometimes it doesn’t make sense when health fails especially in small children or otherwise healthy adults.  Changes in societal health choices such as environmental impacts, technology, food and water sources, medications and others; can have long ranging impacts across generations that we may be unaware.  God will comfort us through these times. 

The good news is that we do have the tools and the gifts from God to get back on track. Health of mind, body and spirit should be celebrated.  The journey is ordained from God and a gift for us to share as a community.  The Christian tradition supports a healthy life.    Christ Walk supports this Christian tradition through healthy choices towards physical exercise, eating, prayer and education.  God will support us and strengthen us through all these choices so we are creating a healthy life with God.