Staying Healthy in the Midst of Chaos
By Gayelee Reynolds
The news hit, the pandemic had now entered America. The swirling began as fear was released into the atmosphere at catalytic speed. Now the question, how was I going to handle this? How are you handling this?
I think back over the past few years and the health journey I’ve been on. I would often say “if you want to see change, you got to do change” and this became my mantra. But was I mentally prepared for this challenge that lay before me (along with literally millions of others around the world) we would soon find out.
It’s interesting what happens in chaotic moments and how people respond and cope when emotions are high and change appears out of control.
Here is what I know, we had to go home? WE had to isolate ourselves. We had to be in lockdown. Hurry go shopping, grab anything you can– and the panic of people had set in…
In a fleeting moment I wanted to run back to my old friend, my long ago comforter the one that never let me down, Food. Yes, this is what I call real talk.
I love the Lord, with ALL my heart, all my soul and all my mind and all my strength … and I had to keep this at the forefront of my mind in this chaotic moment.
If anything, this is the time to take extra care of your body, spiritually, physically and mentally.
The reality of what I carried, what I believed on the inside was now being pressed to a whole new level. As questions came flooding in and the overwhelming WHAT IF’s were on the lips of many I was leading. I felt this anxiety rise within me as the world was shutting down – people were hoarding toilet paper and my heart was palpitating as my mind spun for answers that were out of my control.
It took me a minute – well actually maybe a little longer than I would like to admit and I may or may not have eaten a full bag of candy. However, this did not stop me from doing what I know to be true… I needed to RESET my thinking, right now “on things above” otherwise all the work that I had put into the fullness of my health would be in vain.
In the midst of the chaos, I had to keep my WHY close by.
When you know your WHY, your WHAT becomes clear. Why was my health important? Why was body, soul and spirit important? There were many questions I began to ask myself. Once I had the answers, what was I going to do about it?
In this moment, this divine pause… we have the greatest opportunity when it comes to taking back our health in mind, body and spirit. Yes, it’s scary and things are uncertain but what we do now in the midst of chaos will either be our victory or our defeat when we crossover to the other side. Don’t let this moment pass you by.
With that being said, it was an absolute decision and mind shift I had to make in the midst of this quarantine. Being surrounded and accountable to people who are going the same way is so key. I was asked to join a boot camp on Zoom, and I said yes.
Working out with twenty other women who are going the same way was a decision I made to “staying committed” to the process. In the midst of chaos I found working out and taking care of your body is another key to our mental health. There are a lot of voices speaking, and we must keep our ears to the Voice that matters most. Trusting the process in the hard times is another key. I have a note written in my office that I look at daily “Do one thing at a time”
“Change doesn’t happen overnight, but choice… happens in a moment.”
Yes on the journey in this pandemic there have been valleys and mountains that must be traveled, and along the way we all have choices and decisions to make. Keeping our WHY close by helps us remember that good health is not a diet for temporary change, it moves past the rhetoric of babbling words into a new lifestyle that promotes vitality and spiritual strength on a level that can only be from heaven.
What I’ve learned along this journey from the very beginning, and I still know to be true today...God is in the details. When we keep our eyes fixed on him, He trades peace for chaos and beauty for ashes.
Love Him with all of your heart, your mind, your soul and your strength. Matthew 22:37