Love Your Body—In All Life Seasons

Love Your Body Like God Loves It

It’s Love Your Body Monday again. How do the months roll by so quickly? In my online About His Work Ministries newsletter this month, I actually wrote about how living in a state with four distinct seasons makes the year seem to fly by. And as the months go . . . so go the years and the body changes that occur in each of those life seasons.

Eating with Purpose in Every Season

A woman my age told me she felt her usefulness was over and she was just waiting for the Lord to take her home. That was shocking because I wake up every morning with a new sense of purpose and direction to accomplish what God has planned for me that day. I assured God could use her wisdom and experience to help mentor others if she would let Him.

I recently read an article that said those who live with purpose, live longer. I think that’s true for any age. When you’re younger, if you have a sense of purpose for your life, you’re not going to abuse your body with drugs, alcohol, permissive sex, poor eating habits etc. You have your eyes set on the future whether it’s college, a career, a marriage, parenting, contributing to making the world a better place. . . and you want to be healthy enough to enjoy it.

[Tweet “How we treat our bodies when we’re younger plays a big role in how we age”]

Living with purpose and a goal applies to the aging process too. How we treat our bodies when we’re younger plays a big role in how we age. But it’s never too early, or too late, to eat healthy and establish healthy lifestyle habits.

There’s an eighty-eight year old couple in our church, and the husband was excited that he got his driver’s license renewed for four more years! He’s funny, energetic, trim, and sharp. When we ran into them at a Mexican restaurant celebrating his license renewal, they invited us to eat with them. I asked how he stayed in such good shape and his answer was, “I’ve always been active. When I was younger, I was in sports, then career military. After I retired, I always had an active job that kept me physically fit. Now I stay busy doing things around the yard and house.” I wouldn’t be surprised if he still chops his own wood for their cabin stove.

For dinner, they each ordered two tacos—that’s it. He ate both of his and she took one home. Except for her eyesight going, she’s just as spunky, funny, energetic, and enjoying life as much as he is! That’s how I want to age, but it doesn’t just happen without effort.

Do We Treat Our Cars Better than Our Bodies?

After much prayer, my husband and I decided we needed to buy a new car. In twenty-five years of marriage, it’s only the third car we’ve owned. We take extremely good care of our cars so they’ll serve us well. We put in the right gas, take them in for regular checkups, replace tires when needed, watch the fluid levels, don’t put off getting assistance when the engine light keeps flashing . . . . We make an investment in keeping our cars running well so they will serve us well and keep us safe when we’re driving. The extra care could prevent us from having inconvenient breakdowns, protect us from injury, or even death in an accident so we want to keep it as dependable and smooth running as we can.

Dave, being the manual reader, is devouring the “books” that came with our new car so we understand how it works and what we need to do to maintain it and keep it running well.

[Tweet “Many people take better care of their cars, which they don’t expect to last their lifetime, than they do their bodies”]

Maybe you do the same thing with your cars for the same reasons. Yet, I often point out that many people take better care of their cars, which they don’t expect to last their lifetime, than they do their bodies. They would never think of putting in the wrong kind of gas or pouring alcohol or lard in the gas tank, but what about the “fuel” we put in our precious bodies.

If you’re a parent, you followed careful instructions what to feed your baby. You didn’t feed them anything that would harm their precious bodies. You listened to the doctor when to introduce new foods at what age and you took them in for their scheduled checkups. But as they grow older and start exerting their own will, it’s easier to give in to unhealthy snacks and foods because they like them better than healthy food and it’s less trouble. But what will this do to their still precious bodies as they grow into adulthood? We seldom see studies on this.

[Tweet “Unfortunately, with the wide array of food choices today, our families could eat less healthy than previous generations.”]

When people lived on rural farms, far from town, they ate what they brought home from an occasional trip to town and what they grew. That meant if the kids were hungry, they ate what was on the table or went to bed hungry. There was no running down to the market or driving by fast food. Unfortunately, with the wide array of food choices we have today, our families could easily eat less healthy than previous generations. Kids often tell parents what they will eat and not eat, and because the refrigerator and pantry are full, it’s easier to give into their demands than take a stand for their health.

Know What You’re Putting Into Your Body’s “Fuel Tank”!

[Tweet “Be an avid food label reader and check dates.”]

As we move into the adulthood season and can make our own food choices, we often throw away the “healthy fuel tank manual” and stop watching what we put in our own precious bodies. In a previous post, Love Your Body—Read Labels, I talked about the importance of being an avid label reader and checking dates. Last week, I was at the market checking dates on packages of lettuce, and the woman next to me asked where she would find a date? I showed her, but thought, I wonder how many packages of lettuce she’s thrown away because it was ready to spoil?! Hint: they usually put the older dates in front.

[Tweet “All those ingredients you don’t recognize on labels are preservatives.”]

Even something “healthy,” like sheep’s milk cheese, I read the labels between two different brands. One label, which was cheaper, had other things added than the simple ingredients to make cheese. Read the labels on corn tortillas. You’d be surprised how some brands have much more than corn, lime, and maybe a little salt. All those ingredients you don’t recognize on labels are preservatives.

Here’s my Point!

[Tweet “No matter what season of life you’re in, God wants you to take care of the body He gave you.”]

No matter what season of life you’re in, God wants you to take care of the body He gave you. We may not like some of our features, but they’re ours and God thought they were perfect for us. And how magnificent to think that He made us in His own image! So let’s show Him honor by honoring His creation. You. And. Me!

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

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I’m getting so excited to share Mentoring for All Seasons with you. Remember it’s available right NOW for pre-order and preorders usually arrive before the September 12 release date!

Also, if you have a blog where I could be a guest, or would like to be on the Launch Team to help spread the word from coast to coast, woman to woman, please contact me.

Author Bio

Janet Thompson is an international speaker, freelance editor, and award-winning author of 19 books. Her latest release is Mentoring for All Seasons: Sharing Life Experiences and God’s Faithfulness. (September 12, 2017)

She is also the author of Forsaken God?: Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten; The Team That Jesus Built; Dear God, Why Can’t I Have a Baby?; Dear God They Say It’s Cancer; Dear God, He’s Home!; Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter; Face-to-Face Bible study Series; and Woman to Woman Mentoring: How to Start, Grow, & Maintain a Mentoring Ministry Resources.

She is the founder of Woman to Woman Mentoring and About His Work Ministries.

Visit Janet and sign up for her Monday Morning blog and online newsletter at womantowomanmentoring.com

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