We continue to talk about love this month, what love is, God’s love for us, our love for God, and our love for each other.

I hope that I can explain what God has been teaching me or reminding me this week in a way that makes sense. With my most recent injury and flare-up, I have been thinking about another way I can show my love to God. You see, there is much that I do not have control over with my health conditions. I know you all can relate. However, there are things I can do every day to have the best health possible. For example, I can follow the diet from my nutritionist, exercise and do physical and occupational therapy to the best of my ability, faithfully take medications, follow doctor’s advice, rest, avoid allergens, irritants, and germs, and so on and so on and so forth. I will be the first to admit that it is not easy and often not enjoyable.

My background is that you keep going no matter what. You press on. Rest was equated with laziness growing up. Now, rest is part of caring for my chronic illnesses. Not resting can spark or exacerbate a flare. This, honestly, has been the hardest for me to adjust to in managing the condition. For instance, this week, allowing the injury to heal means quietly waiting for it to heal, not starting exercises, not doing needed household chores, but sitting and waiting for it to heal.

But, what if doing what is needed to best manage my health allows me to show my love to God and to serve Him to the best of my ability? Two passages came to mind:

1. Romans 12:1-2, “12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. ² And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” What if we present our bodies a living sacrifice to God by doing all we can to manage our health?
2. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, “¹⁶ Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? ¹⁷ If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” We are the temple of God. Even with our struggles, we can love God by being good stewards of what health we have.

I’m not sure if I am explaining this well, but it has really struck me this week. Part of my loving God is doing the best that I can with the health He has given. This is what God has been working with me on this week. It is a daily struggle, I admit. Yet, I do love God and want to serve Him in every way possible.

In what ways has God been encouraging you to love Him with your all this week?