Bethany McEwan
“As a pastor, it’s not easy to stay in shape,” says Ricardo Herrera. “Many
of my fellow pastors suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity.”
Ricardo has served as a pastor
for more than 30 years, and he knows firsthand the difficulties of trying to
balance ministry and a healthy lifestyle. In describing the life of a pastor,
he shares, “we have to go to events with lots of food, we often eat at
irregular times, we use cars or motorcycles for all our transportation, we never
exercise, and we don’t even discuss healthy living among ourselves!”
Ricardo’s lifestyle doesn’t just
affect him; it also affects his wife Olga. “I went to a seminar, and I got on
the scale. When I saw that I weighed nearly 200 pounds, it really bothered me,”
she explains.
.jpg)
But something is changing in the
lives of Ricardo and Olga. Between the two of them, they have lost more than 35
pounds in the last four months. “I feel that my health really is changing for
the better. I feel happier and healthier,” Olga says joyfully. Her husband
shares that now he talks about healthy living with his colleagues and the
members of his church. “Before, I felt ashamed to talk about taking care of
one’s body because I was overweight, but now, when people notice that I’ve lost
more than 20 pounds, I take the opportunity to explain to them what I’m doing.”
In April of this year, Ricardo
and his wife attended the workshop “Integral Health and Nutrition.” In this
special training session for pastoral couples in Leon, the Nehemiah Center
shared the “Seven Pillars of Health” by author Dr. Don Colbert.
Dr. Colbert emphasizes seven
basic practices to stay healthy mentally, emotionally, and physically:
- Drinking
enough water
- Resting and sleeping enough
- Eating raw foods
- Exericising
- Detoxifying the body
- Paying attention to stress levels
- Using vitamins and supplements
“Now in the house we are more
careful with what we eat. We have gotten rid of soft drinks, we eat more fruits
and vegetables, and we’ve eliminated greasy foods,” says Olga.
“I learned that I am responsible
to keep myself healthy, and I like that the pastors learned that our health is
as important as our theology. God wants us to be healthy,” Ricardo concludes.
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you
and that you may be in good health,
as it goes well with your soul.
John the Apostle (3 John 2)
No comments:
Post a Comment