"Check-Engine" Lights & Listening to Your Body

You're not perfect; nor does anyone expect you to be. You also are not infinite. Only your Heavenly Father is. And, his loving gazed remain fixed on you. His countenance is smiling toward you, not twisted in a disappointed scowl. He calls you to follow him, not to have it all together. Just take one next step.

I've been driving on a "check-engine" light. And no, not just for a few days or weeks as I set up an appointment to get it checked out. I have a scanner, know how to use it, rarely check it, and just keep driving - for months and months.

And, I'm starting to realize I do that with my body, too.

I have the tools. I know the importance of eating to nourish, getting daily sunlight in my eyes, spending time at the feet of Jesus, setting intentional time for rest and away from my phone both on a Sabbath and throughout the week, grounding, taking my supplements, using essential oils for emotional support, hydrating with minerals. And, yet not only do I not always use these tools, often they are the first to go when I am tiptoeing around survival mode.

Often, high levels of stress creep up on me. If I just keep driving, err...living, I can ignore the warning signs. For me, they often look like:

• Mountains of piled clothes on the floor (or the infamous catch-all bedroom chair)

• Mind racing with to-dos constantly, especially in the in-between of waking and sleeping

• Irregular cycle signs & painful periods

• Low immune system

• Not eating well, and subsequently...

• ...getting food out and on-the-go. A lot.

• Clutter building up in my living spaces

• Feelings of restlessness and struggling to sit and simply exist without reaching for my phone or some way to be productive or fill the noise

Now, certainly everyone's "check engine" lights look vastly different. My periods are typically (as in before five months ago) pain-free since I made several lifestyle changes and cut out a majority of endocrine disruptors in my environment. These last five months, I've just ignored the pain after it was gone and kept going. But, when we start to functionally accept these warning signs as our new normal (i.e. having shorter cycles with cramps again and the mountain of laundry on my floor at the moment of writing this), we've entered the state of irresponsible maintenance that keeps driving with the check engine light on.

When we start to functionally accept these warning signs as our new normal, we've entered the state of irresponsible maintenance that keeps driving with the check engine light on.

Don't worry -- I finally have a car appointment scheduled as of yesterday. What I'm remembering tonight is how important it is to press into my limits rather than run from them.

Again, I know this. I preach this to everyone I know. I'm known by them for believing this. But sometimes I fear our actual lifestyle habits too easily stray from our core convictions, and they can do so just as quickly as we forget to keep taking our supplements.

Alrighty, (simple & straightforward) action plan time. Here's mine:

Reduce visual clutter

I've seen research backing how visual clutter can tie closely to overwhelm and underlying stress levels. I'm going to start one micro-area at a time (bedside table to start to support rest) and hopefully also tackle the laundry mountain I'm still staring at.

Reintroduce a few of my tools

Suddenly going back to my "ideal lifestyle" overnight sounds not just daunting, but impossible to do all at once. For now, I'm grabbing my hormone support oils, keeping my phone on the other side of the room, and sipping on a yummy decaf coffee. Instead of allowing myself to get up for my phone, I'm writing down the to-dos and to-look-intos that pop into my head on a notepad to get them out of my brain while still not allowing myself to deal with them immediately. Set the boundary; it can wait. In the morning, I might shoot to reintroduce one component of my routine that has been slipping.

Remind myself of my humanness & how deeply loved I am

Eat. Drink your water. Take a deep breath. You're not perfect; nor does anyone expect you to be. You also are not infinite. Only your Heavenly Father is. And, his loving gazed remain fixed on you. His countenance is smiling toward you, not twisted in a disappointed scowl. He calls you to follow him, not to have it all together. Just take one next step.

Exhale.