A Good Health Plan

A few months ago, I made the decision to start eating healthy.  People have told me that if I do, I'll feel better and have more energy in my life, so I decided to try it.  I stopped buying ice cream and sugar, substituting it with salads and fruit cups.  But I didn't see a big difference in how I felt.  From what I could tell, I was the same Sister Butts as I was before I started eating healthily.

 

This past week, though, I had an experienced that changed my views on food.  It was dinner time, so Sister McBride and I decided to go to a fast food restaurant.  I chose some of the less than healthy foods, including a 12 pack of cream-filled pastries that were fried and rolled in cinnamon sugar.  :)  They were delicious and I'm sure I ate more than half of them!

Shortly after I ate them, however, I noticed something.  My stomach was hurting a little bit, I was feeling nauseous, tired, and a little more irritable.  Something just wasn't right.  I wasn't sick, but I sure felt like it.  It didn't take long for me to realize that it was because of the food.  

Now, I had eaten unhealthy food before, but it hadn't bothered me then.  That's because I was used to it.  But as my body acclimated to the nutrient filled food of salads, fruits, and other vegetables, my body wasn't prepared for the damage of fats and sugars - hence the negative reaction.  I may not have noticed the benefits of eating good food at first, but I could clearly see and feel the absence of it when I made a different choice.

As I was thinking about this experience, I found myself drawing parallels to things of a more spiritual nature.  Our spirits, like our bodies, need sustenance.  There are a great variety of things that we can feed our spirits, movies, books, games, schooling, entertainment.  Many of those things are very enjoyable, like movies!  Others are a little bit more drab, like a lecture on Physics.  (I personally love the subject, but I understand most people consider me crazy for thinking so.)

We know that we should study the scriptures, and that we will find strength from them.  But sometimes, we can't feel that strength directly affecting us.  We don't feel a difference when we turn off the T.V. and decide to read the scriptures for a few minutes.  My promise to you is that there is a difference.  Just like fruits and vegetables give our bodies energy, the scriptures give our spirits energy to keep going.

May I give you a challenge?  Something for you to experiment with in your own life?  For one week, trade out a movie, an online game, or a half hour of looking on pintrest and instead pick up a pair of scriptures and study.  Try for 15 minutes a day, and see how things change.  Notice how your days go, how you feel, and how you react to challenges that are presented to you.  If you're looking, you'll notice a difference.

Or, if you're like me.... :) ....at the end of a consistent week of reading the scriptures daily, go back to your daily routine and see if you notice the absence.  

I know that the scriptures fill and feed our spirits for the challenges of our day.  We will find strength from their words, and we will draw nearer to Christ because of them.  I know that if you are struggling with something, you will find help and understanding in the Book of Mormon.  You will see the difference.  More importantly, you will feel the difference.