I read an article a while back in an adoption packet we received during our homestudy. It focused on the importance of the health of those waiting to adopt an infant. When a woman is pregnant, her body undergoes many physical changes in order to fully prepare her to care for the infant after birth. This is true throughout pregnancy and after as well. Her body adjusts quickly and while she may notice the changes and experience discomfort as her body adjusts, it is a natural process. However, when you adopt a baby, unless you make an effort, your body can be unprepared for the sudden changes it's about to endure. So it stressed the importance of staying fit, losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight, working on arm and leg strength and just overall striving to be in the best health you can when the baby arrives.
So I decided to take this advice to heart. I didn't do it right away, it took a long time for that to be a priority for me, there were many other emotional issues that I really had to work through first. However, it has really become evident recently that these are things that i NEED to do for ME and for our future child. I need it not just for health, but for something to work towards. It is different than a physical pregnancy where you are working towards an end goal that at least has a time frame. Expecting a baby without a due date gives me a lack of focus and a lack of seeing "progress". So I decided to make my own progress. So I have been diligent in regular exercise (even working towards possibly running a 5K, something I never would have been interested in before). I also have been diligent in tracking my calories and overall eating habits. This has been fruitful as I have already lost 7 pounds and am feeling better than I have in a long time.
So what does this have to do with Martha and Mary? Well, aside from physical healthy, I have been really trying to "train" spiritually as well. I have been especially focused on daily readings and reflections as well as devotions to our Mother Mary, reading books and prayers and such. Yesterday, the Gospel was the story of the two women, Martha and Mary. I always like reading this story because it is so applicable in my life. Martha was working very hard to prepare for Jesus and His disciples. While Martha was working so hard, Mary was simply sitting at the Lord's feet and listening to his teaching.
While reading about this story in the "In Conversation with God" reflection, it really struck me that while I can DO a lot to prepare my home and my body for a baby, I also need to LISTEN, PRAY, and REFLECT on it as well to prepare my heart. I am such a doer, someone who has to be busy and doing something. I always want to be accomplishing something, seeing progress. However, this story really shows the importance of stepping back and finding a balance between the doing and the reflecting. It's not all about how much gets done or how fast. Often it's simply about how it was done or how much thought was put into it.
So I really took that to heart. Instead of always saying, "What can I do today to prepare for a child," I am going to start saying "Lord how do YOU want me to serve today? How do YOU want me to prepare my HEART today?" So my goals are to use this waiting period as a time of preparation and to remain hopeful. Not just preparing my home (which I've pretty done) but preparing my body, my heart, and my soul for another member of our family. It's taken some time but I have really taken that adoption article as well as the lessons of Martha and Mary to heart and am trying to go beyond just the physical but into the spiritual and emotional as well.
2 comments:
After every child I am focused on losing the baby weight. But, after Anne, I realized that I have three little kids who don't only need me to lose weight, but who need me to be energized and healthy enough to serve them fully.
I. hate. running. But for some crazy reason, I decided to start a running program, called 'couch to 5K.' It's a 9 week program for people who don't run at all to train for a 5k, which is my goal. Now, I have taken longer then 9 weeks because I don't always get to run the 3 times per week they schedule you too, and some weeks I have done multiple times, because I just feel they are tough to get through. And that's okay. I started in July, and for the first time IN MY LIFE today, I RAN for one whole mile. NEVER have I done that in my life and it feels so good to have reached that accomplishment!!! It was an 11 minute mile which is not fast at all, but i did not stop/walk once. In school when we had to run the mile I never did the whole thing - i always had to stop.
Now I still have a while to go to get to 5K (which is 3.1 miles I think), it just feels so good to be doing something healthy for my body and my family (and God, as He wants us to be healthy).
anyways, enough about me. :) I just wanted to let you know that I'd run/walk with you if you want to do some type of running program/training for a 5K. Look into Jeremy's work and see if he can get a discount to a local gym. state farm has a discount for Four Seasons, so that's where I go a few times a week.
I have been doing the same Couch to 5K program, I've never been a runner (outside of playing basketball in jr high and high school). I'm on week 2, but so far so good! I usually just run outside, its been so nice out, I can't resist being outside. Jer does get a discount at 4S, but we are trying to put away as much into savings as we can right now (for adoption expenses), so that's something we just decided to wait on... But I'd totally run with you whenever!
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