Over the course
of the last month, people have really begun noticing the transformation that my
body is undergoing. I have had countless
people make comments about my weight loss and several who continually ask me
about my progress. I have to confess, it
feels amazing that people have noticed and are taking an interest in how I am
doing. Many have even offered words of
encouragement and admiration for what I have been able to do thus far. While I have spent most of my life trying to
not really be noticed and keeping personal details personal, I have found that
being open and discussing what I am going through to be cathartic and necessary
to being successful in reaching my goals.
After all, if people are taking enough interest to notice how I am changing my body, the least I can do is
be open about things.
Perhaps the
question that is most often asked of me nowadays is, "How are you doing
it?" (One person asked me, "So, what's your secret?" I resisted the urge to say,
"Diabetes. It's worked wonders for
me.") I always tell them that the
answer is simple: I am eating more nutritiously and exercising regularly. I know that doesn't sound flashy but it's
true. But after being asked that
question again a few days ago, I began to think about how I had actually done
it. The answer I had been giving was
true but, honestly, there is more to it than that. When I say diet and exercise, I am leaving
out the most important part: God. If not
for Him, none of this would be possible.
So, upon further reflection of how God has guided me through this time,
I have pinpointed several keys to what has allowed me to be successful in
restoring my body and rebuilding my relationship with God.
1) Faith:
This is where it all starts for me.
While I have always had faith in the Holy Trinity, I had gotten to a
point in my life where I was relying more on myself than I was on the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. When you trust
yourself more than the Trinity, that's when you get yourself in trouble. After getting the dickens scared out of me in
October, my eyes were quickly opened and I knew immediately where I needed to
put my faith if I was going to be successful in changing my life. Jesus tells us in Matthew 17:20, "I tell
you the truth, if your faith is a big as a mustard seed, you can say to this
mountain, 'Move from here to there', and it will move. All things will be possible for
you". I needed to move a mountain,
or (more aptly) remove a mountain of
weight from the frame of my body, and I knew I could not do it alone. I chatted with God about getting that done
and we have been in constant communication since. If you are looking for a place to start, try
renewing your faith in the King of Kings.
2) Attitude: If you are to be successful in anything you
do, you must have a positive attitude. A
colleague of mine often tells his students and players, "Whether you think
you can or can't, you're right either way". That makes a lot of sense to me. If you expect to fail, you will. If you expect to succeed, you will do that
to. So, I approach every day determined
to be successful. I don't just sit
around waiting for things to happen; I make them happen. Luke 12:35 tells us to "be dressed,
ready for service and keep your lamps burning" and that is exactly how I
have approached my situation. I feel that
God has plans for me and in order for those plans to be carried out I need to stay
positive and keep the determination to follow God where He leads me.
3) Desire: In Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone, Harry encounters a unique mirror that lets him see his family
who had been killed years earlier. Harry
continues to sneak around to get a peek at the mirror whenever possible. Eventually Professor Dumbledore tells Harry
about why everyone who looks into the mirror sees something different. He tells Harry, "It shows us nothing
more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts." After getting my wakeup call in the fall, I
took a look into my own personal Mirror of Erised and saw that I wanted to be
around for Kristy, Brayden, Laura-Rae, and Spencer for as long as I possibly
could. I want to celebrate milestone
anniversaries and birthdays and get to know my grandchildren someday. This was not going to be possible going down
the road the I had been travelling. So
now I am travelling a much better road.
Psalm 37:4 says, "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you
your heart's desires." That sounds
pretty good to me so that is what I intend to do.
4) Ownership: I have taken ownership of
the problem at hand because you can't resolve problems if you aren't willing to
admit that you have them or admit your fault in having them. I knew I had a genetic predisposition to be
diabetic but I had taken that too lightly for too long. No one to blame but myself. 1 Timothy 5:8 sums it up pretty well. "But if anyone does not provide for his
relatives, especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and
is worse than an unbeliever." I don't
want to be worse than an unbeliever but I do want to provide for my family so
that means I must take ownership of the problem and takes steps to correct it
and I have. Going through life ignoring
your problems and pretending they don't exist is not a solution, and to me it's
not an option. Own them, solve them,
praise the Lord, and move on. Simple as
that.
These keys have
proven to be life changing for me and I would recommend anyone who is facing a
similar issue follow them. What do you
have to lose? Me, I had a lot to lose if
I didn't change and I'll bet that you do too.
Recently, I read a book on desire by John Eldredge* and in it he says,
"Life is not a problem to be solved; it is an adventure to be
lived." I reflected upon that
statement and my life. Too often when we
face problems, we let them dominate our lives.
It's easy to do. But what we
really need to do is view them as bumps on the road of the journey we are
on. Sometimes we may have to take the
long way around when we wanted to take the short cut, but the classic Robert
Frost** poem puts that in perspective for us:
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
*Desire: The Journey
We Must Take to Find the Life God Offers by John Eldredge
**The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost
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