Let's talk biology
It is over 6 months since Wonderful Me! launched and what a journey it has already been!! A whirlwind of emotion, filled with joy and challenge in equal measure. I am asked regularly to describe what I do – and I have spent a lot of time over the past few months talking about how I wear 2 hats, leading on 2 projects – Living Well, which is all about creating space to explore a holistic understanding of well-being that keeps Jesus at the centre – and Wonderful Me! which focusses on equipping and support that enables churches to create safe spaces where every child can feel seen, heard and valued and know that they are loved by God.
As the story has unfurled, I am realising that, rather than 2 different hats, these beautiful ‘projects’ that God has invited me to join in with are more like 2 sides of the same coin. Of course they are linked – if we are going to care well for struggling children then we need first to make sure that we are caring for ourselves … If we are going to bring a calming, safe presence that helps regulate a dysregulated child then we need first to make sure that we ourselves are regulated … if we are going to introduce our children to the shalom peace and wholeness of Jesus then we need to know that peace first in our own lives – we need to be Living Well – or at least be considering and exploring that for ourselves.
But I am coming to realise that Living Well and Wonderful Me! are even more linked than that – in both projects, it’s all about biology!!!
In the famous song by Frank Sinatra, New York is described as the city that never sleeps but I don’t think that description applies only to the Big Apple! Increasingly, our society is being shaped by a non-stop, fast-paced urge for more – a need to do more, to have more, to be more. Technology has filled in all the gaps and merged every aspect of our lives into one big boundary-less blur – we no longer start and finish our working day … we can take everything home with us!
In his book called ‘Sabbath’, Wayne Muller sums it up when he says:
‘Our culture invariably supposes that action and accomplishment are better than rest, that doing something – anything – is better than doing nothing. Because of our desire to succeed, to meet these ever-growing expectations, we do not rest.’
But I don’t believe we were designed to live like that! When we get right to the heart of creation, what we find are rhythms – day and night … winter, spring, summer and autumn … tidal rhythms … the list goes on. And our bodies follow rhythms too … we wake and we sleep … we breathe in and we breathe out .. for women, we have a menstrual cycle.
As parents, Al and I used to laugh about the fact that babies don’t come with an instruction manual – but actually, we can find makers instructions for how, as people, we operate best.
In Exodus 20, we are encouraged to remember the Sabbath – to follow a weekly rhythm of 6 days work, 1 day rest.
When we forget that, I believe we work against our biology – we push our bodies to do things they weren’t designed to do.
So Living Well is about making space to explore what it might look like to learn the unforced rhythms of grace that Jesus talks about in Matthew 11 – to work with our biology, not against it.
And working with our biology is hugely at the heart of Wonderful Me! too!
Psalm 139:13-14 says:
‘For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.’
We are only really just beginning to recognise the depth of what that really means – of how fearfully and wonderfully made we really are – of how beautifully we have been woven together – body, mind and spirit intricately connected.
Over the past few decades, largely thanks to advances in technology such as MRI scans that have enabled us to explore the brain in new ways, we have been able to learn and understand more of how and why we work – to dig into our ‘inmost being’ – the parts of us that have previously been hidden and largely a mystery.
In much the same way that our fast-paced non-stop lifestyles work against our biology, I believe there are approaches in how we journey with children and young people that have done the same. Wonderful Me! is about making the most of learning that is emerging about how our brains work – how our nervous systems function best – that enable us to bring approaches that work with our children’s biology not against it. Through training and support, I want to make sure that that knowledge and understanding is accessible, practical and in the hands of those who can use it well – that our churches become spaces that are safe, that support our kids biology and bring approaches that enable them to flourish – that appreciate how they are each fearfully and wonderfully made!
It’s all about Biology!!
If you want to find out more about either Living Well or Wonderful Me! feel free to check out the websites or get in touch directly – you’ll find contact details on either:
