Our Most Holy Brain

Two days ago after Dean's bath aide and nurse left the house, he questioned his memory by asking me if that was his nurse Carol who just left. I gently corrected him with Carla's name. He has had Carla come to the house every week for over a year now and still has trouble remembering her name before, during, and after her visits.

Imagine my surprise and shock when Dean left the doctor's office yesterday by shaking hands and saying "Good-bye, Cori" to the young man who was shadowing his doctor. They had just been introduced once at the beginning of our session. Was it a "white-coat" syndrome? Or just a fluke? I had to smile.

With Dean's array of symptoms lately, mostly involving sleep, appetite, and memory, he's proving to be quite the medical challenge for his doctors. As a matter of fact, the psychiatrist yesterday said he wants to research the medicines out there for what would be best for Dean.

The doctor did ask if it was possible to manage his diet better. I almost laughed. My full-time occupation is managing his diet. We mostly try to have regular, healthy meals, but Dean is just hungry all the time. I mean literally all the time. And with his memory getting worse, he asks for another meal, almost as soon as he's up from the table. I have been welcoming the end of the month when our cupboards are almost bare. At least then I can honestly say, there's nothing to eat.

And then there's his sleep habits lately. I would have thought that going to his day program yesterday and staying awake all day would have meant a good night's sleep and getting back to a healthy day and night pattern of sleep. But here he is sleeping the day away again. Barely staying awake long enough to eat his meals. One day I tried three times when his Meal on Wheels arrived to get him up to eat at noon. If he's maintaining his weight, we can thank his new sleep habits. Except he's missing out on exercise through inactivity too, so muscle weakness is also a concern.

I'm not sure what the doctors can do, if anything, to fix these medical problems for Dean. Our bodies, as we age, are deteriorating. There's no stopping the natural process of life and death.

But Dean illustrates to me just how important our brain is to our overall health. If our bodies are considered the temple of God, then surely the brain must be the Most Holy Place in that temple. We communicate to God through our thoughts, our brains. He resides there as surely as His glory shone above the ark of the covenant. Today and each day, I must be careful not to defile it.

Fit to Serve

This evening my daughter and the two granddaughters and I went to hear a motivational speaker talk about improving our diets and to offer us ways to accommodate special diets. See www.chefmarkanthony.com and www.melodyprettyman.com There was even a free dinner that featured totally vegan foods. We could sample three kinds of "meatballs". Ones without gluten and ones without nuts, plus the regular vegan ones for those of us without allergies. There was a "cheese" sauce made with cashews, and another one made with rice, for those with nut allergies. They were all quite tasty.

There is so much to learn and improve when it comes to healthy living. But all too often we wait for a diagnosis to startle us to renewed resolve. Or even worse, the tragic loss of a loved one via a heart attack or cancer.

Recently my daughter saw the doctor about her migraines, for instance, and he suggested that she try cutting out cheese from her diet. He may as well asked her to cut off her hands! After giving him her dirtiest scowls, she agreed to try it for a couple weeks. Lo and behold, she has discovered that cheese and even dairy were her migraine triggers.

The bottom line is we should all be spending 99% of our time in the produce sections of our grocery stores and leaving the processed, refined, and concentrated man-made products alone. There is ample information out there on this subject to convince us. (See the video "Forks Over Knives" or read "The China Study".)

There are many reasons to take care of our bodies, but to me the one that trumps them all is to do it for the glory of God. I Corinthians 10:31 says "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." In other words, we can serve Him better with a healthy body, as opposed to a sick one.

Besides, taking care of myself helps me be a better caregiver. (and would I be even better without butter?~!)

Fitness Goals

I just finished my daily online food diary, and I was alerted to the fact that I have not consumed enough calories for the day. Sounds like something to rejoice in, but it also stated that I was likely not getting enough nutrients and that my body could go into starvation mode by changing my metabolism, which would make it harder to lose weight. Oops. Will have to think of a good nutritious bedtime snack to get me back on track with my fitness goals.

I really hope I'm getting enough nutrients with the SPIRITUAL calories I consume each day. One could really fall short in this area. How easy to skip my breakfast of Bible study, then barely touch anyone with my witnessing, and finally to give a condensed, rehearsed, lifeless prayer as my evening meal. I'm starving myself, when God offers a full buffet of nutritious dishes for me each day. Look at what it cost for us to have God's Word, printed in our language, in all our homes. And how many people God gives me contact with every day to witness to. Finally, the Holy Spirit is available to translate my prayers into eloquent petitions. They only have to come from the heart.

I'm missing out on God's full blessings, and it may prevent me from getting fit...fit for heaven.