Day 37, Your Body's Superpower

I recently read a mind-blowing, heart stopping book by Jeanne Stevens called What’s Here Now. The book talks deeply about how we need to live more fully in the present. The chapter on how we treat our bodies made me tear-up. She explained that our bodies hold the power to bring us back to the present and that “Now is always where God is. The present is God’s zip code.” Woah! Okay, do a little experiment right now. I want you to stop and truly notice for 30 seconds what your body is feeling from the top of your head to the tip of your toes. Now, as you do that, you have brought yourself back to the present. Your body only feels in the here and now and you can only engage with it in the present. 

A leader in women’s ministry named Chris Paulson, told me a few years ago that God’s love is like an umbrella, ready to shelter us at any given moment. However, when we deconstruct the past or worry about the future, we move out of the shelter of that umbrella. When we take a moment to ground ourselves back into our body, we find no lies there. If we are tired, we are tired. If our stomach is flopping with excitement, then we are excited. Our body holds the key to bringing us back to where God is. 

Jeanne Stevens also writes this amazing thank you note to her body. This was the part that made me cry. God gifted us with our bodies, but we proceed to ignore and abuse them. 

Today, I want you to do two things. First, I want you to practice sitting and noticing your body. When you do this, I hope that you notice that worry eases and peace seeps back in. Next, I want you to take some time to be grateful for how your body has shown up for you. This will help motivate you to keep moving forward on physical habit changes, and it will help you ease stress and anxiety. 

Journal Prompt: In one minute, what physical sensations do you feel in your body? As you dial in to the present, do you notice an ease in stress and anxiety? How are you grateful for your body? ​

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