How is it that I came to this point… this point of being sick and tired of the way I was treating my body? Well… I’m terrible at making stories (even short ones) short, but I’ll try my best!
I have been considerably overweight my entire life… I’d say from about 1st grade on. I’ve done every diet (good and bad) out there and have some “success” stories from them. I’ve always wanted to lose weight… but I just haven’t had the drive.
Somewhere around three years ago, JD (my pastor at the Summit) preached a sermon series on the 7 deadly sins. As we’re all aware, gluttony and sloth are 2 of them… that hit me… hard. I want to honor Jesus, and I was smacked in the face with the blunt reality (gotta love JD), that I wasn’t. I would love to say that I changed immediately after hearing these truths, but I didn’t. It wasn’t really until at least 2 years later that I started really caring. JD (there he is again) preached about having idols in your life, and even mentioned food being one of them. That was it. I was done pretending I was fine. Again, I wish I could say that I was changed immediately, but at least this time I started caring. I started asking my small group to pray for me. I started reading an excellent book called “Love to Eat, Hate to Eat,” by Elyse Fitzpatrick. I started reading my friend Kim’s blogs, which focused around her journey to becoming healthier and more Christ centered. At times I felt like I was moving in the right direction, but eventually I’d wander… this was such a frustrating time for me… I wanted to want this… but honestly? I just didn’t care as much as I knew I needed to.
At the beginning of 2010, I joined an amazing women’s small group. After getting to know my struggles, they went to work praying for me. They’d occasionally ask how I was doing, but more than anything, they prayed. And one day… I snapped.
Yep. Snapped. I got word of yet another lady that I know having gastric bypass surgery. She ended her email saying, “tomorrow begins a brand new day!” Something about that infuriated me. Not at this woman, but at the fact that this surgery is becoming way too popular as the quick fix to obesity. I decided at that moment, that I will not ever have this surgery. It’s not happening. Period. Around this same time, I also started thinking more about the fact that if God calls me to go back overseas, I didn’t feel physically ready at all, and that wasn’t ok with me. Also, around the same time (coincidence? I think not.) a friend mentioned I should check out his gym. So I did. And I joined. Within a week. Within about another week, I’d hired Michael, the personal trainer (yeah, never saw that one coming)… I’ll spotlight him in a future blog. A few lines here will never do him justice. That was around the middle of September, 2010. The past few months have been simply amazing. I’ve had ups and downs, but the ups have FAR outweighed the downs. I’ve lost about 16 pounds, and have gained strength, health/fitness knowledge, and determination.
I’m fully aware that this journey has only just begun. There will be challenging moments, but I am finally in a place where I am surrounded by people who love and encourage me on an almost daily basis. God has richly blessed me. I love knowing I’m living in a way that glorifies Him.
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