Last week, I talked about some health firsts I was trying on for size. (Hey, at least something fits.) Kidding! Ok, there's a little truth there. Anyway, this week is going well - even after a cake-filled Saturday. Most of you know I have a cake issue, meaning I love it and don't control myself very well around it. Actually, I have a sugar addiction and cake is in the top 3 desirable sugar items on my list. Or maybe it's just the frosting? No, it's definitely the combo of the cake and frosting together.
We had our awards banquet for our family business last Saturday night. It was a great night with family and co-workers. This event was for about 400 people and I was in charge of centerpieces for about 40 tables. This year, I decided to have cakes from Sprinkles bakery in Hudsonville for our dessert and table beautification. They were amazing!!! They made four different ones and they were delicious, as well as beautiful.
I started with the double chocolate on our table, then I started table hopping. I had to try the cherry chip, followed up with the marble and concluded with the peanut butter. (The marble was the best.) Even though I had slivers of each, it was still a lot of sweet in a short time. During the entertainment and awards part of the evening, there it sat in front of me. I just wanted to do a face plant in it. I held it together and didn't take any home; I knew better!
Then, I woke up with a sugar hangover on Sunday. I'm not kidding, this is a real thing. I had not been having much in the sweet world lately, so I think I pretty much put myself in a sugar coma. I had to fight my way out of it Sunday. I craved sugar all day and was insanely hungry to top it off. Better by Monday, but it was Tuesday before I felt completely back on track again. I’m not going to say it wasn't worth, it but I did learn something. I learned that my body was not happy with me at all. And that this affected me mentally, physically, and even spiritually.
I’ll start with the physical: I wanted to eat my arm off all day Sunday! This affected me for at least 2 days. No matter what I ate, I was still starving! I also felt sluggish all day. My body was angry with me.
Mentally, I battled negative self talk for a few days about what a screw up I was. I did not snap out of it until a friend called me with positive feedback about something I had sent her. It made me remember what I had been working on and that the negativity was affecting me and bringing me down. I’ve been in that pit before and nothing positive happens there.
Then there is the spiritual. This drama kept me apart from God. It occupied my mind so much, there was no room for me to glorify God because I was too busy beating myself up. He doesn't see the screwed up woman I was telling myself I was. When I went to him with this, he reminded me of the beauty he sees. That I am fearfully and wonderfully made, but also sinful. Yet he still loves me unconditionally. It's something I need to remind myself of every day.
You might be saying to yourself right now, “All this? Over cake? Really?” Yup, the struggle is real and this is just a small example about how we can beat ourselves up when we have a setback in anything. Even if it's cake instead of vodka. I get angry with myself over a setback. It wasted time and time is precious here on earth! I have things to do. There are assignments that get delayed when I get off track with anything that affects me physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
I heard something in a sermon (possibly Rick Warren) about how God is triune. Father, Son and Holy Spirit and that we are too. He quoted this verse:
"I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Thessalonians 5:23
Did you catch that? Spirit, body, and soul. That is what we are to take care of. I think, as humans, we sometimes have balance issues. Sometimes we give and give emotionally (soul) and ignore the spiritual and physical parts of us. Or we feel depleted in some way and try to fill the void with the physical, like a food or substance. We focus so much on doing work in the church or in ministry, we forget to fill ourselves up with all things needed to keep us going. Like daily meditation and prayer. Time well spent with friends and family. Good wholesome food and exercise.
God gave us the body, soul, and spirit to take care of and honor him. My body is his temple and I have to treat it with care. It is only made to last so long. My spirit is maintained when I worship him every morning and my soul is nourished by him all day long. I just have to pay attention. I know what works for myself and so do you. Honor God in it and do it. Everyday.
We have a responsibility to take care of all three. Surprisingly, for me, it has been the physical that has been the most difficult recently. I'm still working hard to find the balance. In the nutrition challenge I am part of at PHYX, one of the things we have to do is list 3 goals for the day. For some reason, this is hard for me. I mean I know what I want to accomplish, but I don’t think they want my list that says do laundry! I am now seeing this as an opportunity to fill in those blanks with a spiritual, physical, and emotional goal for each day. It might be the same each day, but that’s okay. It’s a great way to start my day and try and stay balanced throughout.
I can get stuck on the whole we-can’t-ever-get-a-day-back way of thinking. Sometimes I'm glad we can’t, because a lot of them were pretty bad. The only reason I would want yesterday back is if I could get a redo. It doesn't work that way. It does, however, make me work harder not to waste precious time worrying about eating too much cake.
Life is short, I want to live it well. Join me.
I included a picture of me and my man, Craig, from the banquet Saturday night BC (before cake.)
Blessings on your weekend,
Sherry