I’ve recently started reading a book by Wendy Watson Nelson called “What Would a Holy Woman Do?”. At the beginning of her book, she talks about inviting some friends to do an experiment. She asked them to take three days and choose one area to focus on living as a holy woman would and report back. It was so moving reading about their experiences that I decided that I would accept her challenge and spend the next three days trying to live a more holy life too.
Trying To Live More Holy- Day 1
On day one, I focused on eating and treating my body as a holy woman would. I have been sick for a month or so with awful stomach pains. I even threw up a few times.
It was on my mind to find out what had been causing these issues. And as I prayed to treat my body as a holy woman would, the Lord inspired me.
That day I ate differently. I had small meals, and on a hunch I avoided dairy. I had eaten a lot of dairy before that day- with every meal, and a large glass of milk at bedtime. I already knew I had celiac disease, and I had heard some people with celiac can’t eat dairy.
That is why I feel like the Lord inspired this experiment. That day was the first day in months that I felt good. My stomach pains were gone! After further experimentation, I have discovered I have a dairy allergy. And that day following the Lord’s promptings was the beginning of renewed health.
Day 2- Family
On the second day I decided to focus on my family, and living as a holy woman would when interacting with them. I decided to eat meals as a family. And I listened more closely when my teenager talked to me.
Through the course of the day, the needs of my family became more clear to me. I entered difficult situations with a prayer in my heart for guidance. And I got it! My husband even commented that I had been nicer to him. I hadn’t realized I’d been cranky.
After seeing my family’s needs with a clearer vision, I am making some changes in my life. We are going to eat at least one meal a day together. Hearing what was on everyone’s minds meant so much to me. And I’m going to be more patient, remembering to keep a prayer in my heart when things get hard.
Day 3- Chores Can Be Holy
On the third day I focused on my home, and housekeeping as a holy woman. I hate doing dishes and laundry. I am sure that in Heaven there won’t be dishes or laundry because it is such monotonous work. Even Harry Potter’s world had a shortcut with their magic wands that eliminated the drudgery. So imagining myself doing these things in a holy way was a bit of a stretch. But I learned something beautiful.
When I had my mind focused on doing boring things in a holy way, they stopped being boring. I started to see the benefits of each chore. And I felt a difference in the feeling in my house and my heart. There are a lot of blessings in a clean house.
First, I realized that these chores are an act of love for my family. And second, when they are done, there is a feeling of peace and order in our home. The actual feeling of the rooms changed. Clutter was creating stress that I hadn’t noticed before.
With the dishes and laundry all cleaned and put away, the clutter was gone. Knowing that potentially embarrassing things were not on the couches and counters gave me confidence when friends wanted to pop over for a visit. Even leaving the house and returning felt better.
Living A More Holy 2024
I feel so blessed to have been given new insights and gifts as I spent three days trying to live in a more holy way. So as we approach 2024 I have decided that I want to make this a regular thing. In inviting the Lord to help me be more holy, He opened my eyes in every area I addressed. My life and my family are better for this seemingly simple experiment.
If I were my ambitious teenage self I would decide today to live every day of 2024 as a holy woman. And in 100 years I know I will be ready for that level of commitment. But today I am going to be gentle with myself. It was quite a spiritual learning and growing experience with just the three days I worked on. I remember feeling spiritually out of breath for all I learned for several days afterward. So for now, I am going to choose three days every month to focus on a new area of my life to live as a Holy woman would.
I’ll let you know how it goes. And if you feel brave, I’d love it if you joined me. Remember this is not something to use to spiritually flog yourself. We are all learning and growing. So everything new we learn we simply change the future and don’t regret the past. We do the best we can with what we know. And as we learn more, we gain a new perspective. That’s something else I have learned in my journey to try to live a more holy life. God doesn’t want us to dwell on our mistakes, just learn from them and do better.
May 2024 be full of new and wonderful learning experiences.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In