A few weeks ago, I had severe pain in my lower back. The pain was so intense that I went to seek medical care as soon as possible.
After the appointment and some tests, the doctor gave me some medication and recommended some treatments.
In my continued pursuit of my health, I also saw a chiropractor. At that first appointment, I provided information that would help the doctor provide a more personalized treatment. Once we discussed the information, he asked me to step on the scale. Inside, I screamed as loudly as I could:
“Noooooooooo!!!!”
And I thought this as I took the steps onto the scale, with my head down and a not-so-friendly expression.
“Anyway, that’s some of the information the doctor needs…”
I thought again.
The doctor described to me how, before starting his private practice, he focused on soccer teams. And it’s that experience that he also brings to his private practice.
Now, focusing on my case, I wasn’t at all surprised that one of his recommendations was to try to lose weight, as it reduces risks and helps with overall well-being.
Although I didn’t like hearing it, I agree with him. I still vividly remember the discomfort in my lower back, knees, and feet caused by being overweight, even after my pregnancies. And I don’t want to go back to that discomfort.
Since for some time I’ve been paying more attention to what and how much I eat now, I seeked the help of a nutritionist.
In that first appointment with the nutritionist, we took an inventory of my eating habits, schedules, and amounts.
Of everything she told me, there was one thing that really caught my attention. Within the variety of foods, there’s a recommended order of intake, which, among other things, helps the body better process nutrients properly.
- “ Okay, so if I understand correctly, you mean it’s better to change the order of what I eat, even if I eat the same thing?”
- Yes, because the body receives what it needs most first, and no longer absorbs as well what it doesn’t need as much. When the order is inappropriate, it receives what it doesn’t need as much first, and doesn’t absorb well what it does need more. When we eat in this order, the body receives the rest better. It’s nourished first with what it needs most. When we don’t do it this way, the body becomes slightly unbalanced, and if we continue like this, unnecessary fat accumulates in some parts of the body.
- Wow, so it’s not necessarily leaving something out, but in the proper order?
- Exactly!
In the Gospel, Jesus says that if we don’t prefer him more than our family and don’t carry the cross, we are not worthy of him.
And you, have you considered that you have to choose between the love of God and the love of your family and yourself?
Could it be about preferring the proper order instead of leaving someone out?
Loving our neighbors, and especially those closest to each of us, is certainly a reflection of loving God.
Could it be that by loving God first, the heart is nourished, and everything else takes its proper place, not its primary place?
And this is also reflected in the commandments.
If the Spirit leads you, share with Jesus the Carpenter if you have a preference for whom to love first. And perhaps you’d like to reorder your preferences.
Marisol
P.S. We can hear about preferring to love God in the readings for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year/Cycle C.ios en las lecturas del XXIII domingo del tiempo ordinario, año / ciclo C.
