Naturopathic Evangelism

It sounds like the new type of eco-warrior evangelism, what is your "evangelism footprint"?

Perhaps it conjures up ideas of "green gospeling" where you only talk about your faith in Jesus while wearing hemp and smelling like patchouli?

The real story is that after being sick with the same issues for nearly three years I got jack of the traditional conveyer belt of 15 minute consultations and meds that treat symptoms rather than causes and went to a naturopathic clinic to give it a go.

I have been really blessed by it in two ways:

1) wholistic care -

I get asked when the problems started, why I think it started and asked about my sleep, energy and other symptoms that previously weren't really considered. I have a herbal tincture and a tea that I really think is dealing with the symptoms - and a strict (almost macrobiotic) diet to hopefully kick the cause. I actually do feel better.

2) The whole person vibe -

In the waiting room, people want to talk. They are there either because they already believe in "all this stuff" or because they are going out on a limb. People want to tell their stories and know my story. I get out my bible to read and people have asked me if thats a bible - which leads to asking if they have ever read it.

I like naturopathy not just for the philosophy of the whole person care - but also for the frame of mind it seems to put people in - my faith is an essentail part of me to be shared as part of my healing, not something that is offensive and to be kept "out".

Hormones and Faith

Cyclic Hormones
Quite soon after I became a Christian, a very wise woman took all the woman from our group aside and told us something very important.  She drew two lines on a piece of butcher paper, they looked very much like the ones above.

The blue line represented a man's mood as dictated by hormones, fairly steady, so a lot of reactions he has to things can be fairly steady too.  The pink lines, however, represent a woman's mood changes over a monthly period.  She explained that this can mean that at the right time of the month, all is great, but during the dips and lows, living out our faith can seem harder.  

This is a challenge for women, as some of us can be very "intuitive" in following God - recognising any weaknesses can help us to lean on God in the lows rather than be bewildered by the powerful hormones that affect our moods, our concentration, and our faith.

Maternal Hormones

Recently I became convinced that I was pregnant. Considering that I have not been clucky throughout my adult life, I got quite taken with the idea.  I started praying for whoever this baby might be, and was frankly crushed when it became clear that I wasn't pregnant.

During this last week I cruised baby and pregnancy websites, read articles and counted days and weeks.  There are a whole swag of websites, calculators, forums, communitites and the like out there - it opened my eyes to how obsessive this whole subject  can be.

So as well as follow the advice to take folate, exercise, get my life in order etc in preparation for (hopefully) becoming pregnant, my goal is to become a godly mother and work out my sdalvation with fear and trembling.  I want to be aware of how hormones effect the way I respond to God.  I want to aim to worship and approach Him at all times, rather than on the up days...