Health: Building Strength Through Rest, Rhythm, and Resilience

16.2.4 Load-Bearing Series: Essay 4

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Related: Load-Bearing Series Introduction · Foundation Series Introduction · Essay 1 (Family) · Essay 2 (Faith) · Essay 3 (Community)

Welcome

Health has many layers. Some are visible, such as sleep, exercise, food, and medical care. Others rest deeper beneath the surface, such as spiritual focus, mental calm, hope, and the ability to stay grounded when the world feels unsteady. Both matter. The visible practices care for the body, while the deeper qualities steady the heart and mind. Together they shape how lasting our habits become and how much life they bring.

Although my broader writing frames my life as a home under construction, I often view health through a different symbol: a ship. A ship must have a solid hull to stay afloat, but it also depends on careful steering, awareness of the weather, and provisions to sustain the voyage. It requires clarity, firm direction, and alignment between all its moving parts. When I think of health, especially mental health, the first word that comes to mind is peace. Perhaps surprisingly, the second word that comes to mind is stress.

Stress, Anxiety, and the Strength to Stand

As a gardener, I have learned that stress is not the enemy. Plants experience drought, excessive sun, heat, and unpredictable storms. Some respond by driving deeper roots and emerging stronger, while others collapse. The difference is not the stress itself, but the capacity to withstand it and grow through it. Some of that capacity develops over time as tolerance builds, and there are seasons of fragility in all of us. Yet even then, two plants of the same species, planted side by side in identical conditions, can have very different outcomes. One survives the elements while the other perishes. The same is true of much of creation.

There is a meaningful difference between stress and anxiety as I have come to understand them. Stress can strengthen us. Anxiety often unravels us. Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist, wrote, “Those who have a ‘why’ to live can bear almost any ‘how.’” That sentence has anchored me. Human beings can endure more than we imagine as long as hope does not leave us and as long as we refuse to hand our story over to victimhood.

I want my daughters to become strong girls who can hear dissent without shrinking, who can stand for their beliefs without assuming that pushback means they are unsafe, and who know how to stay grounded when the world feels loud. This, for me, is a core part of health: the ability to live with confidence in a culture that may not always support us.

Sleep, Rest, and the Gift of Renewal

For most of my adult life, six hours of sleep felt like a luxury. Then the pandemic came. A few weeks into it, Hanna and I welcomed twins. Hours after their birth, the thought crossed my mind that I might never sleep again. Yet within a week, they began sleeping comfortably through the night. Aside from a few 2AM bottles or diaper changes, I had never slept better in my adult life.

After a couple of years living through the pandemic, I realized my body had changed. I could no longer function nearly as well on fewer than seven hours of sleep. Earlier in life, I pulled all-nighters in school and even occasionally at work. They were fun, sometimes productive, but by the middle of the afternoon I rarely had anything left to give. Today, if I sleep seven or eight hours, I can move through the day with steady energy.

Rest is not only about sleep. It is also about preparation. The quiet before bed, the discipline of reflection, and the hope of tomorrow are all forms of health. They prepare the ship long before the morning arrives.

Food as Fuel, Belonging, and Balance

Next comes food. I am fortunate that I love to cook, and even more fortunate that Hanna loves to cook and is gifted in preparing all sorts of cuisines, especially Indonesian dishes that are among my favorites. We try to eat fresh, local, and home-cooked whenever possible. We also eat out often, share meals in friends’ homes, and let our girls experience the full range of food that makes life interesting and oddly memorable.

I love tomatoes, asparagus, and raspberries from our garden. I also love sugar, candy, and junk food. My grandma lived to ninety-four and often reminded me that life in moderation is the quiet secret she handed down. Like yin and yang in Chinese philosophy, balance forms a strong temple, one that can withstand life’s storms and also fully celebrate its gifts.

Movement as Reflection

Movement is essential to health. Not only for the body, but for the mind. Life is full, and busy often feels like the default setting, yet I have learned that constant busyness can become the enemy of real progress. Instead of adding more to an already crowded schedule, I try to lean in to the movement that is already there.

It is surprisingly easy to overlook simple priorities. Someone may drive to a gym and then search for the closest parking spot. Families may outsource lawn care, dog walking, or household chores, then wonder why there is no time left to breathe or reflect. There are good reasons to ask for help, yet when we give away every form of movement, we may also give away built-in opportunities to think and to be present.

Some of my best ideas come when I mow the lawn, weed the garden, or take the dogs for a walk. These moments become time to think, to pray, to imagine, and to quietly untangle the knots of the day. They also become time with family. Cooking together, grocery shopping as a family, or doing yard work with our girls turns necessary movement into shared memory. Movement creates space for perspective. Stillness, found within these simple tasks and in the quiet that follows, does the same. Both matter. Both strengthen the ship.

Staying on Top of Medical Care

Finally, health includes staying on top of medical care. Preventative care is part of my responsibility to my family and to myself. Vaccinations, check-ins, counseling when needed, and regular physicals matter. Not every ailment or concern can be solved by an online search late at night. Sometimes we need a professional. Sometimes we need guidance. Sometimes we need reassurance that everything will be okay.

I need to be honest that I fall short in this area. I do not always schedule regular check-ups with my doctor, and I am not entirely sure why. At times the appointment gets delayed, or I convince myself the day is too full to fit it in. I know that this is a weakness I need to improve, and writing it here is a small way of holding myself accountable to do better for the sake of my family and my future self.

Pulling It Together: Key Practices for Impact (my KPIs)

In the Load-Bearing Series Introduction, I redefined the familiar term KPI as Key Practices for Impact. These practices anchor intention and turn reflection into follow-through. Health is not one choice. It is a daily commitment to alignment between spirit, mind, body, purpose, and habit.

Prioritize: Protect peace, balance, and long-term well-being.

Practice: Sleep well, eat smart, move consistently, and make space for rest and reflection.

Impact: Let health become visible in my energy, steadiness, presence, and care for those I love.

Measurable Elements

• In mental health and spiritual well-being: Anchor hope. Practice reflection. Build resilience. Learn to distinguish stress that strengthens from anxiety that weakens.
• In sleep: Protect seven or eight hours when possible. Create quiet before bed. Let rest renew the mind and body.
• In food: Eat fresh and balanced. Cook often. Share meals. Treat the body as a temple while still enjoying life.
• In movement: Stay active. Let chores, walks, and time outdoors become natural moments for reflection and ideas.
• In medical care: Stay on top of check-ups, vaccinations, and professional guidance. Seek support early rather than late.

Reflection Point

Health is the faithful alignment of spirit, mind, body, and hope, a daily choice to grow stronger, kinder, and more whole.

The Lesson: Health as Stewardship

• Health is not perfection. It is stewardship through daily habits.
• Stress can strengthen. Anxiety can weaken. Hope steadies both.
• Alignment, not ambition, is the root of lasting well-being.

Practical Takeaways

1. Create healthy rhythms of sleep, rest, food, and movement.
2. Let stress become a tool for growth, not a reason to retreat.
3. Hold on to hope. It fuels resilience more than any single habit.
4. Stay current with medical care, check-ups, and professional support.

Two Questions to Explore

• What is one small change you could make this week that would strengthen your spiritual, mental, physical, or relational health?
• Where might hope help you see possibility instead of limitation?

Further Resources

• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. A powerful reflection on hope, purpose, and the human capacity to endure and grow.
• Sleep Foundation. Research-backed guidance on rest, circadian rhythms, and health.
• Harvard Nutrition Source. Clear, practical insights on balanced eating and food choices that support long-term well-being.

My final essay in this series will focus on work, financial security, and provision. Some of those themes overlap with health, especially financial health and the peace of mind that comes with contingency planning. My next essay, on passions and interests, also touches health, since outlets for energy, creativity, and joy are essential to a whole life. For now, I hope these reflections on healthy living resonate and encourage a more intentional approach to well-being.

Thank you for being part of my journey. Exploring these themes pushes me to live with more balance, intention, and honesty about what keeps a life strong. May they support you as you care for your mind, body, and inner calm with compassion.

Live. Lead. Love.
Billy

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Explore the Load-Bearing Series · Explore the Foundation Series · Essay 1 (Family) · Essay 2 (Faith) · Essay 3 (Community)