By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11:7 ESV)
The Bible is filled with suggestions, insight, recommendations and even commands on being wise and being prepared. We should not be at a loss for what the Bible says as we approach this next area of being a good steward with our health.
I remember years ago when I was living on the coast of South Carolina, there was a woman in about her 40’s that was in a boating accident. The boat was actually anchored while she and friends were playing around in the water. When it was time to leave, the pilot of the boat thought all were back on board. Unfortunately, this young woman was still at the back of the boat, the pilot started it up and the propeller caught the legs of this young woman and severed them badly. But what was most impressive about her situation was a follow up newspaper story was written several months later, and it was reported that because she was such a healthy person – routinely taking care of her health – her legs and her entire body really, were able to heal quite remarkably. She ultimately had full recovery of her legs once again, in spite of the severe accident she had experienced. This is true health reserves!
In one of my blog posts last year (Health Restoration versus Disease Management), I shared a story of my own health challenges – while not near as drastic as this woman’s recovery story, I too have been thankful for my own health reserves. I was diagnosed with a supposed “rare” blood cancer (although I’m not sure how rare it is, it seems like everybody and their uncle has been diagnosed with some form of it!). Fortunately, because I take care of my health, I experience no symptoms whatsoever, nor do I experience any (outward) side effects from the medication I’m currently having to take. But I believe with all my heart it’s because I have “health reserves” stored up. Let me share what I mean.
Taking Care of Our Health “In Case”
One of the move obvious ways to manage our “health savings” is by literally setting aside financial dollars in case the unexpected happens. An accident – like the gal in the boating accident, or a health report that comes out of left field. Have your deductible amount already saved up and set aside specifically for that reason, as well as any additional co-pays for various things – especially a hospital stay. Literally be prepared financially.
Store Up Health to Recover Quicker
One of the ways we can manage our health savings is by simply taking care of our health – like I had been doing when I got faced with a health diagnosis that went beyond the usual things we can do to maintain our wholistic health. Or the other example of this is the story of the gal in the boating accident in Charleston. Her body was able to recover much quicker because her cells and tissues already had the right nutrients, water, exercise etc. her body needed to heal itself much quicker.
Another words, stay on top of the nutrient reserves. This could be one of your ”whys” when making food and lifestyle choices. If you are putting toxic things in the body, the body will not be in a position to quickly heal should it be faced with a time that it needs to do so. But if you are routinely giving the body the life force it needs to stay healthy, or even to restore health from a chronic condition, you are in essence providing the builder (your body’s innate wisdom given by God) the tools it needs to restore, heal and maintain optimum health. One thing you don’t want to do is be foolish, thinking it will never happen to you. None of us are immune to some kind of health crisis in our lives, but we can minimize the severity when we build up our health reserves.
Have a Reserve of Practitioners
I talk about this in my book “Are You Being Deceived About True Wellness?” . I would encourage you to reach out to multiple disciplines of natural healthcare practitioners and get set up as a new patient. Have a consult with them. Find out the cost of their various services. See if they are a good fit for you. Even if you are not in immediate need of their services, you at least are now established with them and should you need them, you will already know who to go to. I would start by interviewing several different functional medicine doctors – ask friends who are into natural health already for recommendations.
Interview a chiropractor –better yet, get under care with them now – even if you don’t have back and neck pain – maintain the health of your spine to minimize serious injury to the spine and its surrounding complex of nerves, muscles and ligaments.
Budget your time and your money for routine massages – they have far greater benefits than just feeling good!
Again, my book goes into additional practitioners and greater detail of how you can benefit from each of them.
Add to Your Wholistic Health Reserves
Wholistic health is our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. Maintaining balance in each of these areas is a lifetime process. It’s just what we should be routinely doing. Take a pulse on each of these areas on a regular basis – I would suggest at least quarterly, if not monthly.
With the physical health:
- Be sure to stay on top of routine exercise
- Drink plenty of water – daily, every day
- Eliminate or at least minimize the toxic foods you put into your body and be sure to make nourishing your body with real foods a routine part of your life.
- Routinely get 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night
- And again, maintain the health of your spine. Every cell, tissue, organ and system of the body gets nerve supply. Chiropractors keep your spine free of nerve interference.
Routine in each of these areas is key. Get a jump on your health in case something should happen. You will have positioned your spirit, soul and body on the offense, rather than the defense.
In Summary
The main objective here is to start changing your paradigm of how you view your health and your “why.”
In the big picture, start viewing your health from a stewardship position, just like you should your finances. The message “preaches” the same!
There are many ways you can start building your health reserves, I have just given you a few ideas to get you started – be creative, but more importantly be empowered by this concept!
As Dave Ramsey says about getting out of debt: “live like no one else is living (i.e. being disciplined with your finances, or your health in the case of our discussion today), so that you can live like no one else is living.” – in Freedom! Most likely, at some point in yours or the life of a family member, a health crisis is going to hit. Will you be prepared? Being a good steward of your health is a great way to do so. A health crisis already poses enough of a challenge in itself; don’t burden the situation by not being prepared mentally (finances), emotionally (support from others), spiritually (being a good steward of the only body God created for you), and physically – optimum physical health will support your recovery and healing process and make it go much quicker than if you were already knocked down with self-induced chronic diseases.
Your health IS in your control – when are you going to take charge of it?
I give a whole presentation to show you the key differences between disease management and health restoration!
go to : https://jackiemckool.com/schedule-jackie/
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