Taking Care of Our Bodies as a Family

Every week, I watch Skinny Wednesday on The 700 Club, and I’m seeing more and more how our earthly bodies are a reflection of our walk with God.

I am overweight and a yo-yo dieter. I have many excuses, not the least of which being having my children. I allow myself to eat out of boredom, out of stress, and just because I feel like it. When I should be reaching for my Bible, I reach for the chips. When prayer should be my solace, I have been known to turn to chocolate.

The big question is: what am I showing my children about respecting themselves and the body that God gave them?

As Mom, it is my responsibility to be the one to encourage my children to eat the way God intended, to follow His principles on taking care of our bodies.

Just as stealing and lying are sins, overeating (gluttony) also is a sin. If I teach my children to indulge their every whim with candy and carbs, then I am doing them a great injustice.

We are becoming a predominantly overweight nation; it makes me wonder sometimes if this is in any correlation to our spiritual health as a whole. Christians can be full of faith and still be fat, but that is not the way God wants us to live.

I am going to continue to battle against my will and turn my family’s eating around. I am grateful for Pat Robertson and Kristi Watts for how they encourage that weight loss is of God when done healthily.

My children are not overweight, but my husband, like me, has gained throughout our marriage. He must have not wanted me to be alone in my struggle, as nice as that was; now he can help me in my combat against calories.

I’ve been trying to lose weight my entire life it seems, with countless diets and wardrobe changes. Just as with any sin, it is not God’s will that we struggle with our body and our body image. If we eat the way He intended, to survive, then we will not have this problem.

I’ve also been trying to show my kids how to exercise. Even just an hour a day outside playing is more than most children do these days.

Just as my body is God’s temple, I realize that God has entrusted my children to me. When I am feeding them empty calories and allowing them to overeat, I am not doing as He intended me to as a mom. This realization really hit me hard. I have a responsibility to my kids to guide them spiritually and to raise them in good health.

If God called me to physical battle I would fail, that is how I try to think of it. My children would not see a strong mom, they would see how weak I have allowed myself to become. I want to show my children the strength of God in all aspects of my life. Health is not just departmental; it is a full vision of your body and soul. They are connected here on earth. I want to reflect Him with a body that shows the health of being a woman of God.

This isn’t easy, but I have the greatest dietician on my side and my children are a huge part of my motivation. I also have Skinny Wednesdays to help keep me in line. I’m so thankful to God for that. I hope soon there will be less of me in the physical sense, but a more complete me spiritually.