For the past couple weeks, Wade, my husband, has been fighting a cold. He is on the tail end of it now. But last Sunday, we went out to eat as we usually do after church. I ended up getting sick to my stomach later that day. Wade had started his delicious chicken and rice soup that afternoon. He had asked me to taste it for him to see if the seasoning was where it needed to be. I kindly declined as I was trying to keep the contents from lunch in my stomach already and wasn’t about to add anything to that mix. Ben, our oldest son, came out from his bedroom and his dad asked him to taste the broth to see if it was good. Ben looked out at me on the couch with a questioning look as if to ask, “Why can’t mom?” Wade answered the unspoken question with, “Mom isn’t feeling very well and is trying not to lose her lunch.” For a split second, compassion came from the 18-year-old standing there. He said, very sweetly, “Awww, man, you guys . . .” and then immediately followed it up with, “You both need to figure this out because it’s baseball season and I need to be a hundo (100%)!” We all laughed. He made a valid point, though, that has been on my mind all week. He didn’t want to be affected by the ailments of others. He knew what we had had the potential to cross over to him and he didn’t want that at all. I don’t blame him!
In thinking about what Ben said, I have really been considering how my life choices and decisions affect others. Especially how it affects my family. Sure, I have thought about this before, but never in this light. I am nothing special. Nothing great. But my life does have an impact on others. And the ones I am most concerned about have probably suffered the most from some of my poorest decisions. I know that my food choices and my exercise choices (or lack thereof) have affected my family in adverse ways. I haven’t always stocked the most healthy foods in the pantry or refrigerator. I haven’t always cooked the most healthy, nutritious and well-rounded meals. I haven’t always made the best decisions around sporting events that kept us out until late hours by packing good choices for all of us to eat when there is almost always a McDonalds, or a Wendy’s or another fast food joint right around the corner.
This reaches much further than just the health choices we make. Ever said a curse word in front of a 3-year-old? Then you understand what I am saying. Our kids and other people who rely on us are far more impacted by what we say and do than I think we realize. You know, I can imagine for most, if not all, of us there is at least one thing that has been said or done to us that we can recall in perfect detail. It may have been about our weight, or our hair, or our school work, or our clothing, or our economic status, or our family, and on and on. The list is endless. And whether we realize it or not, those words or actions had an impact on us and in some cases STILL affect our thoughts and actions. It could have been a negative or a positive comment. It could have been said intentionally or unintentionally. As a parent, I can think back on a slew of things I have either said or done that I know impacted my children in like fashion. As a fellow human on earth relating to other fellow humans on earth, the same.
I could let the guilt of the choices I made because of my ignorance and stubbornness that I wrote about last week cripple me. I know that my family hasn’t always been the healthiest and most conscious about good eating and exercise. And that falls on me. It’s not the responsibility of our schools, daycares, family and friends, or the government to educate our kids about what is right for them when it comes to their food choices. It is up to us, as parents and guardians, to make sure they have the resources and wealth of our knowledge to draw from to make the best decisions. I could let that guilt keep me from feeling good about the “good” things they have learned from me. They are kind, caring and compassionate individuals. They love the Lord and know they need to serve Him in whatever capacity they can. They have good morals and ethics. And that is enough. Despite my poor choices in some of these areas, they are healthy individuals and thankfully, for the most part, make good decisions when it comes to their health and well-being. They are athletes and have a greater vision for their future than their mom has previously had for hers. They know they need to do the right things to keep their bodies in the shape they need to perform at higher levels. Thank the Lord for that!
A man named Ezra Taft Benson said, “The condition of the physical body can affect the spirit.” I believe that. I wrote last week that I believe we are completely intertwined mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. And this quote speaks to that. If we are not taking care of ourselves physically and keeping our body fed and nurtured as it should be and with the right things, we tire more quickly, we fall sick more easily, we are unable to perform at optimum levels for any period of time. And that directly affects our spiritual being. We aren’t able to focus on prayer and meditation as we need to. We aren’t able to focus clearly on issues and even problems at hand and deal with them in the correct manner. For me, personally, when I am tired and run down, I just DON’T deal with things. I choose to push them away and tell myself I will deal with them later. And then they pile on. And by the time I start to try to deal with them, even when feeling my best, I don’t even know where to start. It’s something I am learning and getting better at every day.
In this world of chaos, especially right now, we need to keep the main thing the main thing. We have to understand how our decisions are affecting other people. Take this Coronavirus panic for example. I spoke with my parents about their supply of things they may need in the coming days. Our family buys almost everything we need in bulk at Costco. After all, we have two GROWING boys. We are in good shape with most of the supplies we have. My parents are elderly. They live in a small apartment and don’t have the space to stockpile anything. I talked to them about their essentials. I asked about toilet paper specifically because, whatever the reason for it, you can’t find it anywhere. My Mom said they have a few rolls. I told her when she was out to let me know and I would bring her what they needed because we have some. My concern in this is that they are alright. I want them to be safe and comfortable in a time when panic is overrunning common sense. I really do understand the need for caution right now. The world needs more love and compassion and consideration of others all the time anyway. But especially in times like these.
My resolve this week has been strengthened; to make sure I am more aware of the things I say and do to others and to recognize how the choices I make may appear to others and the messages it may send to them. And to know how it will affect them . . . positively or negatively. Especially right now, it seems kindness and compassion need to be spread even more. Please do what’s right. Do what’s fair. Check in on the elderly and most vulnerable of our population. Give “a hundo” to do your part to make sure your decisions are affecting others for good. ALWAYS.
#loveyourjourney #youreworthit #bettermewithNewYouCBD #Endo30 #itsuptoyou
Losing Lacy 