Detox- to Rid of Poison

Have you ever detoxed? Gone on a juice cleanse? Deleted social media for a week? All of these are efforts to detox, your body, your mind, yourself, or whatever insecurities you may carry. I’m currently doing the whole 30, an idea of resetting your body to cleanse out all the bad sugar, carbs, and dairy habits I have accumulated over the past 20 years. It’s hard. I miss cupcakes, but for the next 14 days at this point, I have to get rid of it.

I think there is a lot more to detoxing than just going on a juice cleanse or a diet. I think there are many times when a person must detox a relationship, a person, a lifestyle, a habit, a tendency- label it however you want. The definition I found most fitting for the word detox would have to be: to rid of poison or the effect of poison. You can try to deny that you don’t have anything you need to detox- but all of our lives would be much simpler if that were actually true.

People don’t talk about it, because it isn’t an easy thing. It’s a challenge to realize the very things you love the most are the things that might be ruining you. We all have that one thing that motivates and rules over our lives without even realizing it.  As humans we surround ourselves with things that suffocate us without us even noticing it.

It’s extreme, but I think God gets it too.

“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:5-8.

This isn’t something you read and feel all rainbow and sunshiney about. It’s hard stuff.  The Lord’s heart was deeply troubled, because I do believe he loved them. I do believe he cared about the people, but it never says that detoxes will be easy. It never mentions that getting rid of the things that bring immense pain will ever be a cake walk.  I am confident the Lord wasn’t looking forward to flooding the earth or destroying his creation. Detox’s aren’t typically something someone is eager to do or try out. It takes discipline, and can be a lot of hard work. Annie F. Down’s book 100 Days to Brave mentions, “It doesn’t matter if the thing is good for you or bad for you- if it isn’t the best for you, you have to let it go.”

I’m not saying you need to burn your cell phone, move out to the woods & hide from any conflict or negative things the world has to offer. But every now and then, it’s time for a change.

I’ll be honest, the things I needed to detox, well the list could be endless: how I manage my time, social media, priorities, & things I spend my money on. This doesn’t mean that scrolling through instagram is what is causing your relationship with the Lord to appear wicked, but if you let it, it EASILY could be.

The thing is, even in the whole 30 I can see the difference. The good difference in my energy and sleeping habits. & I know that we can all improve without the things that drag us down. We all have that habit, person, thing, diet, website, that we just can’t X out of. Yet, I’m here to tell you- you can do it. Whatever IT is, whatever needs to leave your life to make room for the pursuit of a better relationship with the Lord, get rid of it. Full Marie Kondo style.

This is the part where I run out of words, because every situation, every detox is different. So you fill in the blank now, whatever item, habit, thought, person, website, substance, you name it that you need to try life without? This is your sign.

Image credits: Marion Michele- Unsplash