My weekly weigh-in revealed a one pound two ounce loss! Last week up, this week down and again, three pounds to go! WOO-HOO!
My most avid fan, my cute hubby Dave, asked I add this story to this week’s blog. It fit perfectly with the weekly nugget that God had already laid on my heart. It is that my life is a crazy straw! Please stick with me on this one….
Yesterday, our two sons and I went to Target. Our mission was clear: purchase Cal a back pack that is both preschooler-hip and budget-pleasing. As we ventured through the aisles, we passed a decoy, the women’s undergarment section. Without missing a beat, Cal declares (in his outside voice mind you….), “Momma, for your birthday, I’m going to buy you a yellow and orange breast.” (Yellow is his favorite color and the boy meant bra, as we just passed, clearly an eye-catching yellow and orange polka dot bra). How did I step onto this landmine on a back pack shopping mission?
Jake and I exchanged a wink and smile, both clearly entertained by Cal’s outburst. Then, with tinted pink cheeks and raised eyebrows, my now enlarged blue eyes surveyed the potential hearing radius. Phew, I think I got away free with that one. Which was not the case three short years ago in the middle of a McDonalds handicap bathroom stall when my then three year old Jake inquired, “Mom, where’s your penis?”
Don’t think I didn’t hear you, you two women, whoever you are and wherever you live, who failed to sequester your outburst that slid through your teeth. Glad my crazy straw life can be of some source of comedic relief to your eaves dropping ears. Okay, so you didn’t eavesdrop as the word “penis” was declared in an outside voice (yet again) that I’m certain continued to echo in the McDonalds women’s restroom for days that followed!
I thought teaching my kids the proper anatomical part names was supposed to make my life better and them normal? Well, the jury is still out on that one! It does however add credence to the new theory that my life is a crazy straw! And I do love my crazy straw life!
You might wonder, with good reason, what had my mind meditating on a crazy straw. Two weeks ago, we hosted our annual murder mystery theme party! The tradition began five years ago as a fun way for our former military friends to collect, and have some fun! This year’s theme was the 80’s! I purchased crazy sadd some 80’s flare to our beverages!
The morning following the 80′s party, our sons drank their morning juice through their exciting new straws. It was that morning where God planted the idea that my weight loss journey mirrored the descending plight of their morning juice.
When my sons suck in, the juice went loop-de-loop up. When the suction is released, the fluid dropped a tad down, to go ascend a tad higher, to drop down even lower, to climb up a smidgen higher, then completely down.
And so it has been with my weight loss journey.
When I hit my highest weight, it was not until I finally released the suction, and allowed God to flow in me, did the weight begin to descend. Sure it has been an annoyingly peculiar random pattern, but it has been a steady flow downward.
I entered this weight loss journey under the wrong assumption that my journey would look like this, start – watch the pounds drop – done – onto the next thing.
Nope. That has not been the case for the Stephster. Once I chose (and it is a choice I have needed to regularly recommit to) to let go of the white knuckled suction like grip and allowed God to flow, my weight began its intended descent south. I have arrived at the nutty loops up when I’ve taken flow control back. I’m left abnormally speechless as I reflect just the enormity of God’s love and patience with me. But the thing is, like the fluid descending down, it had a plan laid out for it and so do I. God says so,
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
God does have a plan for me which seemed crazy with loopy highs and lows, but it is the journey intended for me. My journey has necessitated bold courage and complete faith in Him. My faith is infused with strength as I study how Jesus acted in crunch times.
As you well know, Jesus’ life was not all peaches and cream. Wow, He had a crazy straw kind of life with major highs and lows. Independent of His circumstances, He remained steady in His dialogue with God. He didn’t take control; He kept turning His eyes upward to God. He sometimes cried, sometimes celebrated, sometimes asked His friends to pray with Him, but He remained faithful and did not, even for a moment, abort the plan God laid out for Him. He continued an open, honest dialogue with God. He said things like, “God this is so difficult, I want out, help this pain…if it is your will.” That’s the kicker for me, Jesus kept referring to Gods’ will, not His own.
He fell to the ground and prayed for a way out: “Papa, Father, you can—can’t you?—get me out of this. Take this cup away from me. But please, not what I want—what do you want?” Mark 14:35 (The Message)
When I stopped sucking it in and let go of the control, I told the Holy Spirit, please flow in my life. The result has been my physical and emotional weight has been lightened. My spiritual growth has deepened.
Know what happened when my sons let go of the suction from their crazy straws, their juices flowed south. Know what happened when I let go and let God? My physical and emotional weight began the intentioned direction down. When I get stuck in a crazy straw kind of upwards loop, I literally now find the need to go to God for an honest look through this checklist:
- How does my bible time/private time/prayer time look?
(A little dab doesn’t do it for me anymore!)
- How does my exercise/movement look?
- How do my meals look?
- My importantly than my meals, how’s my snacking going?
(I’m a gal who loves snacking!)
- How am I managing my emotions in response to life?
- Am I getting enough sleep?
(When I’m tired, I crave all the wrong kinds of food!)
Are you still sucking it in, white knuckled, relying on your strength to pull you through? Or, have you decided to let go and experience the Holy Spirit flow and guide you down the journey He desires you to travel?
