I’ve heard all my life that we must be thankful. I’ve heard that there are hidden blessings all around us if we will have eyes open to see them. I must admit, though, that there are some things I just haven’t found a way to be thankful for nor have I been able to see the blessing in them.
My weight struggle is one of those things – or has been until this week.
I’ve been “curvy” all of my life and have struggled with being overweight since my early teens. I always wanted to be one of those cute, slender gals, but it was never meant to be. If I want to stay at a good, healthy weight and size, I have to work at it. I can’t relax in eating or exercise. That, to me, is just plain discouraging.
Doug and I both had been doing well losing weight, exercising, and generally being healthy. Then we slacked off. Then we came back a little, then slacked off some more. Gradually, we slacked off more than we came back. So, our weight has gone back up, our clothes have gotten tighter, and our craving for pure junk has returned. In order to get things back under control and get back to losing that weight, we have to get back to discipline in our eating and exercise.
As we are kicking in gear and seeing the first stubborn pound or two melt away, I have pondered just how good it feels to be disciplined again. Discipline is one of those “love-hate relationship” words. It is a challenge, a chore, and a struggle to maintain. But, when we are diligent to maintain it, life is so phenomenally better!
And that is where the hidden blessing comes in!
You see, there are many aspects of my life that require discipline. But, none are so tangible and visibly consequential as my weight management. I know my personality, and I know that when I am disciplined in one area of life, it tends to flow over into others. When I am undisciplined in one area, though, that too flows over into others.
Because we have to be disciplined with our eating and weight, we have an automatic nudge in the discipline of other areas of life. And it makes a huge difference!
This week I found myself feeling thankful for the need to be disciplined in my eating and exercise. I was actually able for the first time in my life to thank my Creator for not making me slender. If I had been slender, I wouldn’t eat right. I wouldn’t exercise. And I’m not sure I’d really buckle down in other less tangible areas of discipline, either. But, because I’m not slender, I do find that motivation. I do find that discipline. I’m sure my wise Creator would have motivated me in another way had He created me to have the “perfect” body. But, in His wisdom, He created me just the way I am. And for the first time in my life, I am truly thankful for that aspect of who I am.
Not Quite Ordinary 