WELLNESS // Thoughts

Wellness. In it’s truest sense of the word is a fabulous concept. The act of nourishing the mind, body and spirit with all things good and beneficial. Now, before I launch into it, let me make an initial disclaimer: What is good for one person is not necessarily good or achievable for another. ‘Wellness’ or holistic health is personal, it is contextual, and in my opinion the overall aim is for an individual to achieve a sense of living lightly, at peace with themselves in all areas of their life. Wellness is about achieving your own individually balanced lifestyle. It is about maintaining healthy relationships and about knowing and loving yourself deeply, not conditionally.

Unfortunately the term ‘wellness’ has become somewhat of a fad. Instagram is littered with ‘wellness accounts,’ and while some accounts genuinely serve a great purpose, others both unintentionally, and sadly some intentionally, encourage followers to strive to achieve a socially constructed ‘optimum self’. This optimum is often solely focused on an idealised and usually unachievable aesthetic. Let me now also mention, that nowhere in the definition of wellness does it include the term ‘aesthetic’.

In an age where social media is the most prevalent means of communication and self-presentation, I am terrified by what I witness posted on some Instagram and Facebook accounts. I could go into a whole other blog about learning healthy culture/attitudes surrounding our social media lives but this is not my intention. In saying this, I think Instagram speaks for itself. Although (once again) it serves a great purpose if used well, features such as filters, edits, like count and pressure to obtain a certain amount of followers to following ratio speak for themselves. They are implicitly telling us we need to present ourselves in a certain way to achieve others acceptance, and more terrifyingly, for us to accept ourselves.

I am all for yoga, a good healthy meal, a gym workout and for investing time into yourself. What I am not for is pushing a criteria or a standardised formula on anybody. We are all different, and therefore require and NEED difference. I think we need to be wary of falling into the trap that there is a single formula or ideal that must equate to being ‘well’. We have a tendency to read into what we see posted before us, when in all reality who actually knows how genuinely ‘well’ the stranger behind the Instagram picture is?

Wearing the latest range of organic tights doesn’t equate to being well. Posting an image of a spinach smoothie doesn’t necessarily mean that person has healthy relationships, healthy cholesterol levels, good blood pressure or a healthy thought life. These photos are posted in isolation of a much greater whole. I love fashion, and I love my smoothies, but please, I BEG you, do what is good for you, YOU, not me or the many Instagram accounts you follow.

Be inspired by others, be challenged, but most of all do not be consumed by an ideal; love you as you- being ok with ourselves is one of the healthiest things we can achieve, not a certain hip to waist ratio.

And maybe, just maybe, we need to re-adjust what we define achievement to be. Although I will be the first to cheer on someone who is taking steps to be the best version of themselves (whatever that may be), sometimes having a transparent or life enhancing conversation with a stranger, making a meal for your friends or reading a thought provoking book, can be just as big of an achievement as loosing ten kilo’s. There are no conditions on this- celebrate your successes, whatever they are. If they are meaningful to you, they are worth celebrating.

So let’s be real with one another. Let’s value relationships and community. These are the things that are going to feed into your life in the richest of ways. They are the things that will keep you accountable, that will journey with you in a much deeper way than any of your account followers. Let’s communicate to our young people, and people in general, that they are worthy and enough; that they don’t need to filter over their lives to achieve inherent value and significance.

There has never been a more consumerist driven society than the one we currently live in. The more consumerism invades our personal lives, the more we need to step outside of ourselves and meaningfully engage with one another.  Let’s back each other; let’s celebrate each other’s personal successes without condition. Let’s take time to get to know us deeply. Then we may be able to reflect the best version of ourselves to others, whatever that is, and allow others to do the same. No filter required, no formula needed, YOU are the formula.

Related verses:

Proverbs 14:30:

A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones. 

Matthew 6:21:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Luke 12:15: 

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Matthew 16:26:

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

The Promised Land

If you have followed my last few blogs I talked about not being defined by the works that we do, or the many titles we are given, and I want to continue on a similar theme today.

To give a bit of context to what I’m about to write about, the last few months have been (somewhat forcefully) a time of seeking; seeking direction, seeking purpose and mostly seeking and discovering who I am when I am not identified by any achievement or good work that I am doing. I have always been busy, always had things to strive towards - even if just the next assignment. Now, in a new country with new people, and where I am very much a small fish in a big sea, I have been forced to step back and ask God, where to now? But the answer doesn’t always come straight away. And yet through everything, strongly permeates a message that I am not what I do, my identity is first and foremost a child of Christ. Here, I am seen, I am known, I am justified.

Today I want to reflect a little bit about the idea of completed work, of God completing a ‘full’ work in ‘the fullness of time.’ To do so, I would like to draw a little bit on the story of Moses. But before this, a wee disclaimer: I am no-where near a bible scholar, in fact, I’m a self-confessed amateur when it comes to the word. However what I am is an over thinker and a truth seeker, and my mind whirls around the possibilities the bible holds to enrich my life. So I do my best to understand the relevance these ancient, yet very current words have for me.

Moses had the hefty job of leading the Israelites to salvation, from the land of Egypt to the Promised Land. After Pharaoh finally let God’s people go, the journey into the wilderness began. Moses faced many trials over many years leading the Israelites through the desert. At times, the Israelites cursed Moses for taking them out of Egypt, because even though they were slaves there, at least they had food and water to drink. Every time Moses called on the lord to petition for the people, he provided; food, water, comfort, rest, courage, wisdom, he provided. Intimacy grew between Moses and God and he never failed to provide for them, even if only day-by-day or moment-by-moment (Exodus 16: 4-5 & Exodus 16: 17-19).  I can’t begin to imagine the kind of faith required to journey through the wilderness for that long. Moses had little comfort of knowing what tomorrow would bring, only the knowledge that God was good and that he had promised them salvation. Moses held onto the covenant of the Promised Land, but he didn’t always walk with confidence. He grew wary and meek and the load that he was called to carry, at times was too much. Moses needed to share the load with others (Exodus 18: 17 & Exodus 18:22); a poignant reminder to surround yourself with people who will walk with you and speak life into your times of darkness.

The first time the Israelites stood at the borders of the Promised Land, they lacked faith that it would be safe there, due to the reports of spies they sent out to inspect the land. Because of their lack of faith they were exiled from the land and spent forty years in the wilderness. It was only the next generation, who had confident trust in God, who entered in. Moses himself never stepped foot in the Promised Land when he was alive, as he did not follow God’s precise plans when striking the rock to draw water in Meribah. Man how I would have regretted hitting that damn rock.

At many times the faith of Moses and that of the Israelites was not ready for the Promised Land; the fullness of Gods work in their lives in that particular season was yet to be completed. In the wilderness, Moses was forced to be reliant on God. Moses’s faith and character matured and even though he slipped up many times, he held onto the promises of the Lord and was ultimately a deeply faithful man.  

In the quiet times where you feel you lack direction or works to put you energy into, allow God to mould your character around the identity you have in him. Perhaps it is in the quiet times, in the stillness of the valley, where he is preparing you- solidifying your character and completing a work in you in order that you are ready and steadfast in the times of noise and busyness, or in times where your works require everything that you have to give. If you know your identity in Christ when all else is striped away, if you allow God to complete his work in you, understanding in all fullness the things he wants you to learn in a particular season of your life, this knowledge may guide you in the next season to come.

Lastly, although Moses never stepped foot in the Promise Land, God revealed it to him before he passed away. On top of a mountain Moses saw all that his people would inherit and he saw it in all its glory: “His eye was undimmed, and his vigour unabated” -Deuteronomy 34:7.  I think Moses would have left the earth holding this image in his mind and feeling great peace. It was only at the very end of his days where he saw all that God had promised his people. Yet, the whole journey Moses kept with him the real Promised Land - an internal landscape of belief, of hope and of purpose that kept him walking day-by-day, year-by-year.

So I encourage you, hold onto the external desires you feel God has promised you, the things you feel you are called to. However, when circumstances fail you and you feel lost in the wilderness, draw deeper into the Promised Land that you hold within. This is a place of peace, of strength, and ultimately of hope found in Christ.

Philippians 1:6

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Colossians 2:2
My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ.

Colossians 2:10

And in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.

James 1:4
Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

2 SAMUEL // 22:17-20

2 Samuel 22:17-20

He reached down from on high and took hold of me;

He drew me out of deep waters.

He rescued me from my powerful enemy,

From my foes, who were too strong for me.

They confronted me in the day of my disaster,

But the LORD was my support.

He brought me out into a spacious place;

He rescued me because he delighted in me.

David called out to the Lord in his troubles when he was at a stronghold of his enemies, and acknowledged the greatness of God as his deliverer. In David’s distress he called out.

The verses that come before the ones above speak of the LORD not only answering David, but of God parting the heavens, and of heaven and earth trembling with the wrath of God, who was angry at the anguish David was faced with. Verse 14: “The LORD thundered from heaven”…. Verse 15: “He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy…” Verse 16: “The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare.”

And then God appears, reaches down and pulls David out of his deep waters into a spacious place, a place where his burden was easy and his yoke was light –Matthew 11:30. The verse doesn't say David was brought into a "happy" space where everything was necessarily better, but that he was brought into a spacious place; this is a place where we can breathe and acknowledge that God is bigger than our circumstances. 

I am overwhelmed with these verses today, and am in awe of the care that God has for us, exemplified by the enthusiasm of how he delivered David from his darkness. But, believe me, it doesn’t always feel like God parts the heavens and trembles earth every time I call out to him. 

But what I do know is that when I am closed in by my troubles and call out to God, my world expands, my mind opens, my thoughts rise to thee. My troubles do not always become smaller, yet I grow stronger in order to face them; “For when I am weak then I am strong” – 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10.

When I am run dry, when I have exhausted myself in my own efforts and call out to God, living water runs through me, and I am replenished; “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me- a prayer to the God of my life” –Psalm 42:7

Whatever your enemies are, whatever is contained in the deepest valleys of your life, whatever is wilting in the foundations of your world, God wants to expose them to bring light into your world. God can and will deliver you when you call out, for he delights in you.

I encourage you, through it all, through days of disaster or even the smallest moments of tribulation, place your eyes on God. Allow yourself to be gathered in his grace and drawn out of the waters that can otherwise overwhelm you. “From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe” – Psalm 61:2.

Lastly, I would like to share this song with you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNqo4Un2uZI

Take a moment by yourself today to listen and know he is ever constant.

A REFINING.

Psalm 65: 7

Who stilled the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    and the turmoil of the nations.
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy.

You care for the land and water it;
    you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with grain,
    for so you have ordained it.
You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
You crown the year with your bounty,
    and your carts overflow with abundance.
The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
    the hills are clothed with gladness.
The meadows are covered with flocks
    and the valleys are mantled with grain;
    they shout for joy and sing.

I have been reading over this verse this morning, and it deeply resonates with what God has been revealing to me in the past few weeks. I believe that as people, the most beautiful things come from sharing our experiences, and providing honest and transparent accounts of both our triumphs and our struggles. So I would like to share a bit of my heart with you in the hope it may help you, if not today then maybe in another point in time.

Moving to another country has its perks, and it also has its challenges. After a while I felt like I lacked direction and clarity about where I was being called to work, and about where to apply the gifts and skills God has developed in me. I would spend a lot of time on my own, as Rory works long hours, and by nature I am very much a people person (I used to have friends over when I was younger, and as soon as they had left, begged mum and dad to have another friend to stay). Hence to say, I spent a lot of time in my own head, and soon enough I found myself confined to the smallness in my own thinking, and engaging with thoughts that were not from God- doubting my abilities, giving energy and engaging with the idea that “I was just not in a good head space”. I allowed that thinking to rule over me, until I started reading Caroline Leafs book “switch on your brain”, and realised I needed God to be the author of my thoughts, and to allow all things good, not evil, to take precedence in my thinking (Philippians 4:8-10). I could go into what she talks about and the relevance it had in my situation but that would take a whole other blog post- however I would highly recommend her book.

I realised that within this season, within what felt like a massive transition period, God was teaching me. In hindsight, for the past four years and maybe even more, a part of me felt defined by the things that I would do- my academic achievements, projects I would carry out, or acts of kindness I loved to do for people. My character was demonstrated in the things I would do for people and the value that seemed to have in their lives. Being new to a country I knew no one expect Rory, nobody really knew what kind of friend I was or have been, what skills and talents I had, or the things I had achieved to the full extent. Being unemployed I felt the pressure to jump straight into a job, whatever it was, so at least people thought that I must be good at something. I am not saying that we shouldn’t do things for our friends or work hard and achieve well, but within this time God spoke to me. He asked me: Who are you in the stillness, when there is nothing you have to do or be? Who are you when no-body is around? Who are you when you strip away your achievements, strip away how much money you earn, or the grades you get, or the things that you do for people? Who are you then?

The verse I shared at the start of this post talks about how God refines the land. He stills the rough seas, waters the fields and brings bounty to the crops until they are overflowing, and until the land is singing with joy. God can also refine us in this same way- softening our edges, bringing peace to our turmoil, overflowing our spirit and strengthening our hearts, until we are filled with joy- regardless of our circumstance.

We will all have transition periods in our lives and it’s so important to not allow ourselves to feel defined by our work, the things we do or what we are for others, what we have achieved, or any sense of attachment to the many titles we, or others, place on ourselves throughout our lives. Instead choose to be defined by God, and alike to the land he will refine our character (Psalm 66:10 NIV), and from that our fruits will inevitably be plentiful- wherever we devote our time, energy, gifts and skills. In the silence, in the moments of transition or limbo, allow God to reveal to you who you really are, when everything else is stripped away.