A swift kick

I've always had very sensitive bowels. I used to LOVE drinking a glass of 2% milk every night with dinner, even on dates when I was single. And it never occurred to me that doing that was the source of my stomach pain. As a teenager I thought that it was normal to be bloated and gassy and irregular. I don't even know that person anymore! Because now I am the person who doesn't drink dairy at all, and the subject of regular bowel movements is something we think is very important in a healthy body.

I'm still super sensitive, I know within minutes if I ate something with MSG (monosodium glutamate, or spices, go ahead and check the labels in your cabinets) so I may seem picky, or maybe you might think it's harmless, but really it's one of many ingredients that I didn't even know how bad it bothered me until I cut it out of my diet.

I still have a sensitive gut. Some people get indigestion, or colds often. But health for everyone always comes back to your bowels. We all know that we need to eat food for our nutrition. Our body uses that food as fuel, and to replenish the blood cells and life that continues to be used and work within every system in our body. But how many of us realize that if our bowels aren't healthy, the nutrients can't pass into our systems? The bowels are like pipes, but if they flow clean without buildup and mucus, the nutrients pass into our blood. If it's coated with plaque, our systems suffer. For some of us, it's our immune system. For others of us, it's our hormones. Or our bowels themselves. What goes in the body should be for our health, and how it comes out let's us know signs in our health or disease. And how long we leave it uncared for will determine how much of our body starts to become unhealthy.

So I've always known this and try to live by this.

2 years ago I got salmonella poisoning, so did my 2 big kids. That threw my immune system to the dogs, and I got influenza A and pneumonia that lingered and reoccured 4 times that year. I was breastfeeding, so I couldn't take much aggressive actions. But I gradually got back on a routine.

But I've been slacking. I've been eating convenient things that I know irritate me, because my busy life exhausts me. It's like a double edge sword, I know how I've been eating isn't going to help me in the long run, but I get unbalanced and busy. Then when I don't feel well as an effect, I feel more unbalanced and stressed!

Then with processed eating while we traveled to Utah, through the holidays, while James was dealing with a kidney stone complication, his surgery, I knew it was taking it's toll in my bowels. Also, I probably pay more attention to this than the average. I'm not surprised though In having inflammation producing appendicitis. Not fun.

I know a lot of people think I'm crazy to not rush for surgery, but I'm a logical person. "itis" means inflammation. And that causes pain. I know what has caused the inflammation. And I've been talking about cleansing and flushing things for a long time but I haven't had the commitment. It's the Master Cleanse, which I want to commit for 8 days to do, but if you read my blog then you know how much I love to cook! Because I love food! And 24 delicious meals is a lot to resist, only drinking liquids. But this is probably the swift kick that I needed to take care of myself. I know doing this will make my body feel a thousand times better. I don't need to rush to get something cut out, that can improve by a liquid fast, cleansing the bowels, and decreasing the inflammation. Our bodies are equipped to replenish and heal, the fact that your skin and hair grow is evidence of a constant replenishment cycle. We just have to keep a balance, and support, and every system works with the same intelligence.

Be careful of the goals that you make for yourself. Mine was to improve a lot of areas of my health that have been taking its toll in me. I just have felt too busy, too many irons in the fire to do it. I know the Lord has a big plan for our family this year, and this call to take care of my body will ensure that I can be a proper tool for him. So this is my journey to restore my neglect. I welcomed the appendicitis as a wakeup call. And now I'm excited to start this year off heading in the right direction again.