Several months ago, for health reasons, Suzanne and I decided it was time to change how we ate. We met a delightful, very knowledgeable nutrition coach who had survived 22 years beyond her 2-year prognosis for stage 4 cancer. She had spent years studying what the body needs and how it responds to the food we eat. She sent us recipes with ingredients we had never heard of. On our next trip to the grocery store, we kept the clerks busy helping us find strange items such as cocoa aminos, pomfret, sprouted mung beans, and dandelion greens. We also had to learn new techniques for preparing our dinners, which, to our delight, meant more time working together in the kitchen.

Here’s what we’ve noticed. The more we understand how to take care of our bodies, the more we talk about “food as medicine” today, the more motivated we are to keep practicing good habits. It’s one thing to say, “Don’t eat junk food.” It’s another to understand how my immune system works, which foods trigger inflammation, the importance of sleep, and how fiber fuels a healthy gut biome. 

It occurs to me that the same goes for “spiritual food” offered to all of us all the time in the form of what we watch, read, and hear—some of it could be called “junk food.” Good science confirms what we hear in God’s word—our bodies and minds are profoundly interconnected (see Colossians 3). When I read the apostle’s words to husbands to love their wives as they do their own bodies, “For no one hates his own body, but nourishes and tenderly cares for it,” I apply what I’m learning about physical nourishment to my life with my bride. What I allow into my heart, mind, and soul directly affects not only me but also my marriage. 

Prayer:
Loving Lord, 
The words you speak to us are spirit and life (John 6:63). You are the bread of life. As I take in your spiritual food, strengthen my heart, mind, soul, and body so that I may tenderly care for my partner in marriage and life.