I realized after writing those previous blog posts some of
you who read this might not understand what ankylosing spondylitis is. So it is
defined as a inflammatory disease that can cause some of the vertebrae in your
spine to fuse together. There are other definitions, but they get way to
complicated. So it basically is just a health issue that causes inflammation in
your lower back. So it is different for everyone, but if not taken well care of
can become a real issue just like any other issue that people might have.
A little more background info. So during fall or winter semester of school the pain was
getting pretty severe. I was sitting down for a good part of the day and my
back didn’t like that. While I was searching for things that could help and
from the help of my family I came across a non-starch diet. How they explained
it was that with the condition some of the bacteria in your body attacks part
of the body causing inflammation. It went on to say that the excess starch that
is left over from digestion provides food for the bacteria making the
inflammation worse. So they suggest getting rid of starch, which is pretty much
like 80% of the food that we consume. It is all grains and other foods like
beans, potatoes, and other foods like that. I decided to try it. So I went for
a good couple weeks and was doing some back exercises along with this and the
pain almost went completely away amazingly. I was only able to stay strong for
a couple weeks. I have a crazy fast metabolism and was always hungry. Just
couldn’t get enough salad and meat to
satisfy my appetite. I ended up loosing weight, which I didn’t have any to
loose. So I started eating grains once in a while just to give myself some
carbs every once in a while. I now try to eat no starchy foods for breakfast, a little for lunch, and occasionally
some for dinner. I found that my body can digest a little bit during lunch so
it has time to digest and not just sit in my stomache all night.
So this week I stared training. So I haven’t really done any
real exercise for a good 8-12 months. I’ve done a little swimming here and
there and maybe jogged somewhere when I needed to get somewhere quickly, but
beyond that I’ve just been resting. Usually if I do to much I’m not able to
move the next morning or not able to get a good nights rest. I was able to get
out and swim on Monday and Wednesday and a short bike ride on Tuesday. The
other days I got to busy working and wasn’t able to get in for a swim. I was
surprised from these small workouts that the pain the next day wasn’t very severe.
After I got up and moving around I really didn’t notice it at all. I even
played a game of basketball on Thursday night and wasn’t able to go for very
long, but the next day I wasn’t feeling to bad.
With all that information time to think I had a few ideas
come to my head. Obviously for me it is a little more necessary to be conscious
of what I consume. I was thinking about the body and how it flushes out the
bad. I was thinking of how important it was to be drinking water so that the
body can do this function of cleansing. I think it is a gift that we are given
to heal and repair ourselves.
While reading a conference talk one morning I came across a
talk by elder Randall L. Ridd. He says:
“In a real though figurative sense, the book
of life is the record of the acts of men as such record is written in their own
bodies. … That is, every though, word, and deed has an [effect] on the human
body; all these leave their marks, marks which can be read by Him who is
Eternal as easily as the words in a book can be read.”
As I was reading this I thought back to the body and the
ability it has to heal itself and my mind went to the scripture in D&C
58:42-43. This says:
“42 -Behold, he who has repented of
his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.
43- By this ye may know if a man
repenteth of his sins – behold, he will confess them and forsake them.”
I wondered if this is how the Lord will remember them no
more. I then thought of the Holy Ghost and how he has the ability to “burn” the
sins away in our bodies to cleanse us. I wondered if this is how the Lord would
remember our sins no more. Does the spirit remove the effects the sins had on
our body making that part of our book of life erased.
I had an experience with this type of thing this week as
well. I am a free-lance worker per say and currently am working on a house. The
goal is to get it finished by the end of the summer. So I had many other people
wanting me to come and help them on some of their projects as well, which would
have taken me away from my own. At first you would think it would be good to go
and help. My life was becoming very hectic and my mind was not at ease. After
talking with my dad I got some advice. He first said that the Savior never had
a hectic life. He had many things to do, but never at a fast pace. He then also
shared the advice the Savior gave to his apostles. This was that after they are
converted then they were to convert their brethren.
I was trying to live a hectic life. It was having a toll on
me. After I declined some offers and just focused on the matter I had at hand
my mind was at peace again. I had energy again and my body felt rejuvenated.
Just like my example those who try to live a sinful life
take a toll on their bodies. If only they would repent and change they would
again be full of energy and not have to carry around the effects of those sins
everywhere they go. It is so important to take care of our bodies both
physically and spiritually so that they can do what they were made to do, heal,
repair, and grow.
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