The Ingredients Make All The Difference

By: Lorrene McClymont

The Right Ingredients for a Healthy Life

This morning, I made myself the most sensational-looking coffee. The crema was a rich caramel colour; the fragrance filled the kitchen and hung in the air. The milk frothed perfectly without making the awful screeching noise that sent my family members, pets included, running for another room. It was both spectacular looking and noteworthy, given my history with our coffee machine. We are not friends and I battle it constantly.

I sat down outside, overlooking my favourite gum tree, a magnificent giant that catches the morning light, Bailey the Labrador obediently laying at my feet, also kind of miraculous, and took my first sip. It was weird. The milk was fluffy, not frothy, fluffy. I took another sip, got through the fluffy milk, although it looked picture perfect, it was awful. Sour tasting and stomach-turning. When I went back inside, the coffee discarded, I checked the date on the milk, and sure enough, it had expired.

Sometimes, in life, we can seemingly have it all together. Everything looks good. All the boxes are getting checked, the lists are getting done, and everything is working together just as it should. Without the right ingredients, though, at some point, our lives will develop a sour taste. It’s easy for things to look good or to curate the perfect Instagram-worthy shot. To have something that holds up over time, we need to have intention, consistency, and daily habits that support it.

When the pressure is on, we start to see if the ingredients have a problem. The cracks start to show when there’s an unexpected deadline, an illness, someone that’s a little difficult to get along with, or an interruption to our perfectly curated plans. That’s when we start to see if the life we are living is matching up to the image we are presenting.

The Importance of Rest

I talk about rest a lot; I am deeply invested in it. I see it as necessary, and I believe it’s something that was modelled for us repeatedly in the Bible. Over Christmas, I broke my thumb; the only cure was to keep my hand still and rest, and I was faced with a choice. Was I going to make sure that the ingredients I was using in my life were good and supported the life I share publicly? I was stuck at home, and no one could see if I had done a little bit extra here or there. Having one hand was so frustrating. The choice was an easy one; I rested. I rested even when I couldn’t get things done, I rested even though I am now behind at work, I rested even though I have multiple personal projects that I couldn’t get to. I rested because it’s a good ingredient that is vital to producing a healthy life.

I want to live a life that unlike my coffee, tastes the same as it looks. Our lives need good ingredients that build healthy spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional habits. It doesn’t matter how our life looks on the socials, it matters how we live it day to day.


Article supplied with thanks to Lorrene McClymont.

Feature Image: Photo by M_K Photography on Unsplash

About the Author: Lorrene McClymont is a writer and photographer from Hope Images. She shares about rest, faith, and family.