I titled this entry There’s A Stranger In My House based on the song by Tamia. I do think that there is a stranger in my house. My temple has been housed by a stranger for too many days now and I can no longer let this be. I have neglected myself; I’ve not been caring for myself as I should be. I do not eat well, I don’t work out; I haven’t been putting in effort to dress the way I’d like. I’ve been lazy, uncaring, unbothered, and disrespectful to my body. This is not me. I don’t know who this stranger is but she has got to go!
I have been thinking about what Self-Love looks like and how one gets to a point where one has learned to love oneself, from head to toe. I think part of self-love is self-care: taking care of the body that you have, and getting to a point where you reach equilibrium with your body. To me, equilibrium is when everything is functioning as it should; you are in tune with your body’s needs and are able to respond to them adequately. I know this to be true for myself. I have not been at my healthiest state for the past 2 years because of various things that I allowed to overwhelm me, and my body has deteriorated slowly but surely. This year I have devoted to caring for myself—to eat better, exercise and do things that bring me pleasure, things that make me feel good about who I am. I have to remember that my body is the dwelling place of God. My body, with all its nuances and flaws has been deemed good enough by God for him to live in. My spirit and soul live in this body. I have to start nourishing it better. Our bodies take care of us when we take care of it. You’ll immediately notice when something is not right; or when you feel yourself getting sick; or something just seems a little off. I notice these things about myself, and I have noticed it for quite some time now, but they have largely gone ignored because life sucks sometimes! And it’s ok. But I know I have to start doing better!
We shouldn’t only think about our bodies as temples when we think about abstinence. We have to look at it holistically. A temple is a place of worship, and a dwelling place of God. You don’t want a temple that looks like it’s about to collapse on the outside, yet be flawless and clean on the inside; nor do you want a beautiful temple on the outside, but a sepulcher on the inside. Neither of them is attractive.
So start that work out plan! Commit to clean eating. If you fail, just keep trying. And remember, you are not doing this to meet anyone’s standard of beauty; or to be a great success story; or anything else. You are doing it to take care of yourself, to allow the beauty within to truly be reflected from head to toe, to be in sync with yourself. Just because your temple is wider, or pointier, or rounder with more rough edges than smooth, doesn’t mean it isn’t beautiful. Not all temples are built the same, nor do they even look the same, neither are they privileged in the same way. But they are valuable to the ones who worship in them. God resides in you. He worships with you. Your soul and spirit reside there. They are you. Your temple is so beautiful, and valuable, and is worth your gentleness, your love, and your care.
For the sake of Love.
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