Embracing Whole-Person Wellness
Caroline Fausel
3 min read ⭑
I believe wellness is inherently holistic — it involves the connection between body, mind, and soul. When it comes to the medical realm, people tend to assume their symptoms have only a physical cause. And in the church, people may be encouraged to focus only on the spiritual. But in reality, humans are integrated beings. If we’re not moving our bodies, we often feel stuck in our faith and our relationships. If we’re thriving in our faith, it can help us thrive in other areas too. When we’re fueling our bodies as they were designed to, we feel more alive, and that energy sparks just about every other area of our lives.
This is how “The Message” captures 1 Corinthians 3:16,17: “You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred — and you, remember, are the temple.” No matter what worldview you’re coming from, I think we can all agree that humans are awe-inspiring. I believe that we are all created in the image of God. This belief is at the heart of my own health and wellness journey — I want to live with vitality and energy so I can live out my God-given purpose with as much impact as possible.
When I’m talking to Christian women about focusing on their own health, wellness and relationships, I often get pushback. I’ve even heard people argue that “self-care is selfish.” It’s true that a meaningful life includes pouring into others and using our gifts for good. But we aren’t meant to live on empty.
No matter where we are in terms of our faith journey, none of us are able to serve others well unless we’re also caring for ourselves. Unfortunately, our faith communities don’t always encourage this balance. In fact, some of the drive we feel to do and be everything to everyone else comes from within the church. But the destructive belief that we should ignore our own needs isn’t from Scripture.
In Christian culture, there’s a tendency to idolize a martyr mentality — we’re taught that ignoring our own needs and wants is the path to holiness. But when Jesus gave the Golden Rule, he said we are to love our neighbor as ourselves (see Matthew 7:12). This implies a baseline of caring for our own needs. When we receive God’s love and care, we can serve others out of that overflow. When we focus on everyone else’s needs except our own, it is an entirely unsustainable lifestyle. We are left exhausted both physically and emotionally, and most likely bitter and resentful.
“When you prioritize your health and wellness, your spiritual formation, your relationships with friends and family, and God’s purpose for your life, you will be able to flourish — and help those you love flourish too.”
Jesus himself gave us an example of taking time to himself (gasp!) so he could be filled with his Father’s love before he went into the crowds and poured out that love. Here’s one of many examples in Scripture: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35). Jesus regularly removed himself from the chaos and the needs of the people around him to be with his Father. What I find so fascinating about this is that Jesus was fully human and fully God. He and God were one, but he still needed to set aside time to recharge and reset so he could be fully present and fulfill his calling.
“Sure,” you might be saying, “but he wasn’t giving himself a mani-pedi — he was praying!” I get it, but the point is that he took a break from caring for other people so he could be filled up before he poured out.
When you are intentional about what matters most to you, you’ll be a better friend, wife, mom, executive or fill-in-the-blank. When you are filled up first, you will have the reserves to do the things that God has called you to. You’ll soon find that self-care is a way to show love not only to yourself but also to the people around you.
When you prioritize your health and wellness, your spiritual formation, your relationships with friends and family, and God’s purpose for your life, you will be able to flourish — and help those you love flourish too.
Caroline Fausel is the blogger behind Olive You Whole, a clean eating and lifestyle site. She is passionate about helping women live healthier, more intentional lives. As a health coach, she has developed a community of followers who love her recipes and guidance on living a toxic-free lifestyle. Caroline is married to her college sweetheart Chaz and calls Denver, Colorado home.
Adapted from A Simply Healthy Life by Caroline Fausel. Copyright © 2025. Used with permission of Tyndale House Publishers.
