I grew up in a sports family. What that means, or at least what you need to understand, is that someone was always playing a sport, watching one, or sore from one of the above (sometimes cheering on the Iowa Hawkeyes gets intense!). There were very few sports we didn’t play, watch, or enjoy. You could count on tennis ball fuzz, dirt from the baseball diamond, or the sound of a crowd cheering somewhere in the house at all times. Being active was a way of life. 

One of my favorite family jokes came from a phrase my mom turned into a mantra, and the sheer repetition (and truth) of her words always made us giggle and occasionally roll our eyes (sorry, mom). The scenarios would go a little something like this. 

My brother, Charlie, or I would wander into the kitchen and rub our hip, back, or shoulder, clearly indicating something was wrong. Sometimes we’d say we were sore or some muscle hurt, but most of the time my mom would just know. Before we could wallow in self-pity or fear, she’d ask us, “Have you stretched?” She was well aware the answer was probably no, but she asked anyway. 

Usually, we’d start to contest, trying to argue that stretching our back wouldn’t help our hips, and vice versa. The next few words out of her mouth became a family tagline of sorts. 

“It’s all connected, you know.” 

No matter what part of our bodies ached or groaned, she’d hand us a foam roller with that sentence wrapped in a perfect pair—it’s all connected. 

Looking back now, of course, I know she was right. Our muscle groups depend on one another, and loosening up our quads or glutes can certainly relieve some tension in our lower back. Our bodies weren’t made randomly, disconnectedly, or disjointedly—each muscle, tissue, organ, and bone work together to keep us strong and healthy. If one area is down, we can work hard to rehab it, but stretching the surrounding areas will also take us far. It’s all connected. 

This is true in our bodies, of course, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned it’s especially true in our whole being. We are more than just physical beings. We have mental, emotional, spiritual, relational, and creative spheres to us, too. And when one of them is down, it can cause discombobulation in other spaces. The responses may seem unrelated at first, but when you lean in and look close at what’s going on, they make perfect sense. 

When we break a bone or tear a muscle, we can experience a flood of emotions about not being able to do or perform our normal tasks. 

When we are anxious—or experiencing a panic attack—our heart races, we get short of breath and sweaty. Our body responds. 

When we aren’t spending time with God, we can easily feel sad, lonely, or overwhelmed in higher volumes. 

When we wade through depression, relationships and creativity get hard to maintain if they haven’t already gone out the window. 

I imagine a pulley system when I think of these different parts of us—when one area goes high, another goes low. The categories and boundary lines within us are oh-so-sensitive to even the slightest movement from one another. It’s all connected. 

The fascinating thing is that our physical being is the easiest to see and describe. The other areas are all internal—spaces we feel deeply but can be much easier to hide, avoid, or stuff down. 

So what do we do? How do we tend to the multi-faceted parts of how God intentionally and intricately created us?

I’d argue it all starts with awareness. With even a willingness to become aware of how these different areas are doing inside ourselves. It’s brave to look a hard emotion in the face and say, “I want to learn from you. What are you trying to show me?” It’s brave to come face-to-face with our physical limits and the mistruths we’re believing about God. 

But the alternative? Staying stuck, sore, in a constant state of pain? That’s not the life Jesus died on the Cross for us to live. There is freedom and abundance in nurturing each part of our body, mind, and soul. If we don’t, they will keep us stuck and spinning in a constant cycle of doubt, pain, and confusion. There is more for us as daughters of the King. There is so much healing, self-awareness, and compassion we have access to, all through the grace and counsel of our Heavenly Father. 

Here are a few questions to help us reflect on which areas we might feel strong in and which parts of us may need a little love—after all, it’s all connected. 

• How are you feeling physically?
• How do you feel about your response to and reality of the question above? Dig deep. 
• What is your relationship with your emotions like?
• When was the last time you let yourself feel your feelings without judging them or trying to fix them immediately?
• What has your thought life been like lately? Would you describe your mind as a positive, neutral, or negative place?
• Is there any area of your life you feel shame? What is your response or way of suppressing it?
• What area needs the most support right now: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, relational, creative?
• What are a few things you could do to support that area?