pressed.

Have you ever done a juice cleanse? (Nope, not me). I don’t know much about juice cleanses so I don’t know how the food allowance works in them. Maybe it depends on the cleanse you do. However, help me ask your neighbor: is kilishi allowed when you do a cleanse?

It’s good to listen to your body. In fact, it’s recommended by many a professional to do so. Our bodies will often tell us what they need as long as we listen. We know when we need food, water, sleep, rest, etc. because there will be signs. Sometimes we ignore those signs and our bodies will either scream just a bit louder or over time become so used to being ignored that they will try to figure out other ways to survive, or, even worse, will become sick due to the lack of care.

I found this happening to me (spiritually). I heard that it was time for me to take a break from social media sinceeee, but I was ignoring the signs. I typically leave social media for a bit every year, but for whatever reason (my dear, I didn’t want) this year it was not really on my mind. And when the initial thought came to mind that I should start my own cleanse, I didn’t really do anything about it. Just left it there. And a bit later, it came back to mind.

Did I listen?

No

but I started telling myself what I was experiencing wasn’t a big deal so I tried to continue life as “normal” and found myself feeling a bit worse

…and did I do anything about it?

Just a bit, I’d finally deleted the apps. That was enough right?

Not quite…

A few days later, I attended a virtual bible study (topic: consecration) hosted by one of my lovely friends, Valencia (countedIN; Val) and that’s when I finally “faced my sickness”.

You know when a parent/guardian doesn’t yell at you but speaks in a particular tone that it just as, or maybe slightly more stinging than them yelling? yup. I clicked that red Leave Meeting button and slid out of my chair to the floor and said “I have heard”.

That was the push (drag) I needed to truly tend to my spiritual body’s needs! It was not enough to just step away from what I was consuming too much of. I needed to take a step further and replace it with better habits. And while it was not easy, especially not at first, by God’s grace I was able to get stronger and nurse myself back to health. And because God is so sweet, He brought people to visit me as I was going through this process, both people who knew me and even strangers. Those who would encourage me even though they weren’t completely aware of what was going on. And that truly did help me get better.

Now that I’m back on socials, I’m maintaining the good habits I’ve gained and making sure they’re prioritized so that I don’t lose sight of what’s important. I don’t want to go back to old habits and take my recent experience for granted. So my awareness has shifted and I’m more in tune with my body.

While for me, it was social media, for you it may be different. Maybe God is asking or has been asking you to take a break from something or even remove it completely so you can be a better version of yourself. If you’re looking for a sign, here it is. It’s difficult to maintain good health when you’re ignoring your body’s needs. And I hope you know that God will not condemn you for taking the necessary steps now. Instead, He will take your hand and walk with you until the end. Don’t allow shame to rob you of the love that God has for you.

But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also (Matthew 6:33, AMP).

How do you feel about cleanses? What came to mind as you were reading? Let me know below.

Much love,

Kumam 💜