Every day, I work with moms of all ages who are hungry for healthy. They come in our doors at Rock Solid Families not knowing even what that would look like, but they know they are not happy with the way their life is going. Many are exhausted from doing more than God has called them to do. Some feel like they are all alone and have isolated themselves from other healthy people. Some have believed the lies that others have told them or maybe that they have told themselves.
Which is why earlier this month, I started a Healthy Mom Facebook group and within days hundreds of women joined. If you’re a mom on social media, you may belong to other mom’s groups, and if so, I would caution you to be aware of what you are reading and listening to. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are some great moms groups out there, but many of the “popular” ones with thousands and thousands of members are doing more harm than good when it comes to helping moms get healthy. Many moms spend their time on social media complaining about someone or something else that has done them wrong. They spend much of their time putting children on a pedestal and turning them into a god they can’t live without.
If you’re a mom, I wanted to give you six essential qualities to strive for and maybe even get help with to get healthy. These qualities encompass mind, body, and spirit. All three areas are equally important so that we can model for our children what healthy looks like.
Healthy People-Healthy Moms seek relationships with other healthy people. It’s important to surround yourself with people who won’t always tell you what you WANT to hear but what you NEED to hear. Make sure you align yourself with people who have similar character and values as you want for yourself and your family. Notice I didn’t say “perfect people”. You’re just looking for healthy ones. Healthy rubs off, but remember so does unhealthy. You may have even said to your kids before…”you are who your friends are”. The same holds true for adults. Don’t have any healthy people in your life? Get connected to a local church. It’s a great place to start.
Healthy Boundaries-Healthy moms have healthy boundaries and know what’s in their control and what’s not. They focus on what is their responsibility and within their control. Healthy moms don’t make excuses or enable by doing for their children what they can do for themselves. If you don’t have a clue where to start in setting healthy boundaries but you want to learn, I highly recommend the book, Boundaries. I read this book decades ago and it was truly a game changer in my life.
Healthy Parenting-Part of being a healthy mom is understanding what season of parenting you are in and adjusting how you lead according to that season. For example, you may serve and care for your 6 month old’s every need, but that should not be how you parent your child when they are 6 or 16. For more on the different seasons of parenting, check out our podcast, Rock Solid Radio and the series we did on the Seasons of Parenting by clicking HERE.
Healthy Habits-It’s important our kids see us model healthy habits such as our eating, exercise, and sleeping patterns. Things like how we handle our anger, our alcohol, our money…they are watching our every move. What are our kids seeing in us? Do you struggle with some unhealthy, maybe even toxic habits? Find a Celebrate Recovery group near you where you can get help with hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Click HERE for more information or to find a group near you.
Healthy Love-Healthy moms are free to love others well because they don’t hold on to unforgiveness or put the people they love on a pedestal for them to fall off of. They have owned and dealt with their past, so it doesn’t control their future. For more information on How We Love check out our podcast, Rock Solid Radio by clicking HERE.
Healthy Faith-All of the above qualities are meaningless if they are not built upon an unshakable and unchanging foundation of faith. We can’t build our lives and families on shifting and sinking sand. Our world today is buying the lie of relativism and the idea that you can have your “own truth”. Healthy moms fight for absolute truth and the unshakable foundation of God’s Word in their life and the life of their family. For help understanding what absolute truth looks like go to God’s Word. If you don’t know where to start, click HERE to watch an episode of Rock Solid Radio where we talked about Absolute Truth.
So there you have it. The secret formula for a Healthy Mom. It’s not rocket science, but it is amazing to me how many women did NOT see healthy models growing up and have no idea where to start. If that’s you, I would highly recommend you start with the first one. Surround yourself with some safe, healthy people and give them permission to speak into your life. Admit that you don’t know where to start but that you want healthy for you and your family. I did this very thing over 25 yrs ago, and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. I began making deep connections with women who are still precious friends today. My marriage is now strong and my family is thriving and growing, because I fought for healthy over two decades ago. Ladies, you can have the same. Take a step today and fight for healthy!
If you need help taking a step toward healthy, we’d love to help. Just click HERE to contact us.