Being Hungry is not always Physically Related!

For the most part, runners are always hungry.  You know the kind of hungry where your blood sugar crashes and you’re dragging, or maybe anxious, or the most serious kind…..”get out of my way” kind of hungry.

This kind of hungry can affect you mentally and emotionally, ask my husband.  Here is me in various stages of being hungry…..

1.  Avoidance:  I decide whatever I’m currently doing is more important than eating.  So I just continue to do what I am doing, I don’t refuel my body and time goes by.  I AVOID the fact I should go eat…..and it’s NO big deal….for awhile.
2. Ignore:  After some time, my body gets hungry to the point I hear my tummy growl, gurgle and I continue to INGORE because I am being productive!  Kind of like writing blog posts?.
3. Anxious:  Than I start feeling tired, a bit weak, and ANXIOUS.  I sometimes get a headache.  Ok, this happens a lot.  And I have trouble thinking clearly.  And you know what, my belly is now hugging my backbone.  UGH!  Similar to what I tell my yoga students…“Pull in your navel so you can feel your backbone connecting to your belly button!”    
4. DANGER:  I am now noticing my frustrations, I am even more anxious, and can no longer ingnore my emotions.  In other words, if my husband tried to talk to me right now, I would probably behave as a nagging housewife.

But, because I am lucky, my husband realizes I am just ready for some food.  He first gives me space so I can go grab something to eat, and secondly, he accepts my apology.  We’ve only been married for a few years, but he’s figured out my different stages of being hungry.

So when you deprive you body of food, it can effect your mind, emotions and behaviors.  Being physical hungry has taught me a lot about taking care of my body.

What about being Spiritually Hungry?

We are not just physical beings are we?  We have souls and our souls need to be fed also.  I wish pasta did the trick here too, but I am now talking about a different kind of “soul” food.

A couple weeks ago in running class, a few of us runners were chatting about an upcoming race which fell on a Sunday.  When I asked my friend if she was going she said……“I really wish I could but I hate to say this, our family has made it to church only a couple of times this summer so no, we’re staying home and taking the boys to church.”   This made me feel good because my summer was very similar.  Why is it that most of us neglect feeding our souls over the summer?  Or am I the only one who struggles with this?

So I too went to church that Sunday and almost very Sunday there after, and it felt good.  I heard the importance of POURING OUT.  “LET US NOT LOVE WITH WORDS OR SPEECH, BUT WITH ACTIONS AND IN TRUTH.  1 JOHN 3:18.  That particular morning I learned, don’t worry about what God thinks because, you know what, I am ok.  I am more than ok!  He thinks I am perfect, righteous and he loves me no matter what.  He died for me, he gave me Grace.  The following Sunday I learned, lets stop showing off to God and start taking care of our friends, neighbors, spouse, and even strangers.  Because you know why…..WE are made to love and be loved.  Mark 12:31 “Love thy neighbor as yourself”.

Here is how a starving sprit plays out for most of us…..at least for me

1.  Busyness:  Are you too busy to go to church and do you skip your daily prayer and meditation?  I always had an excuse….I was too busy and for awhile it was no big deal.
2. Loneliness:  After a few of weeks or more of missing church, I started to feel guilty, lonely and craving a reconnection.   I started to pull out my daily devotion again and I felt like calling one of my Christian Friends for some meaningful and biblical conversation.
3.  Insecure:  This is when I start to feel disconnected and misunderstood by mostly my husband.  I fixate on mistakes from my past and I get more negative about life in general.  Why am I not better at this, or that, or the other thing, and I start to blame, again, mostly my husband.
4. Failure:  I start to think I am a failure and I lose sight of my passion and purpose.

So luckily I get back to church, I hear a good sermon, and I sing a beautiful song, which revives me.  My husband is at my side and he wishes me peace gently and softly, and I know that he loves me.  It feels good to be loved and to give love.  Spiritual hunger happens and it does teach me lots about taking care of my soul.

Being Hungry is a choice  

I have GREAT news…you never have to be hungry physically or spiritually.  You get to decide to take care of yourself.  I have learned to recognize the pains of hunger more and I try my best to satisfy it before I turn into that nagging wife.

Sure I still make mistakes.  None of us are perfect, except Jesus, right!  That’s the cool thing.  We learn from our mistakes and we train ourselves to do better the next time around.  That is what I am constantly working on.

Running for exercise and enjoyment is good but but it’s much better to run with Jesus.  I have a few Bible Verses I have memorized which I take with me on my morning runs which helps me stay connected and I have found, that running with Jesus helps me to live for Jesus.   Keep running strong, but always remember to run with Jesus?.

“Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one gets the price?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24