11 Months
So today is an anniversary of sorts for me. Eleven months ago, I started on this journey that I will be on for the rest of my life. Looking back on what I have accomplished and how far I have come is pretty awing. It hasn't been easy, in fact, it is probably one of the hardest things I have done. Changing how I eat, going to the gym, changing everything about my life. However, in the last 11 months, I have lost 65 pounds, got my blood pressure from 190/80 to 118/65, run a 5k without stopping, started working out with a trainer and forced my body to do things I never thought it would be possible for me to do, taken my 5k time from an hour to 40 minutes.
While I have done all of these great things, there are days when I have not done life well. When those days of doubt come, I have a great network to go to that reminds me just how far I have come. I know that the people that I do life with and have been with me on this journey will help get my focus back where it needs to be. Off of me. One verse that has helped A LOT is Isaiah 40:31 "Those who wait on the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." At first, I clung to the they will run and not get tired. I am almost there. I can run a lot farther and faster than I have ever been able to. I can walk and not get weary. However, the main focus of his verse is "Those that wait on the Lord". I want my body to do all of these things now. I want to be able to run farther, I want to be a smaller size, I want to... and the list goes on. What I need to remember in these times of discouragement, is that it isn't my timeline or my strength or my doing. I need to wait on the Lord. Most of this journey has been mental. I have had to change the way I think. While the physical change has been difficult, the mental change has been even more so. Changing your thought life is not easy. Forcing thoughts that have been in place for over 30 years to bend into something different is not easy. It is exhausting. Two of the aspects of the Daniel Plan are Friends and Focus. For me, the first was easy. I already had a great support system in place. Focus was and is the aspect that I struggle with. It's when my thoughts start going back to the old path that I get discouraged and stop waiting. This is where it gets tough. "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2. My thoughts are sin. My not waiting is sin.
When I have these thoughts, I run to my support system. They are the ones that pull me off of the ledge. They remind me how far I have come, even when it feels I have so far to go to get to where I want to be. They show me pictures of where I was and where I am now. They remind me that this isn't in my strength, but His.
So, eleven months ago, I changed my life. While the road has been bumpy, curvy, and sometimes unexpected blockades popped up, the overall journey has been so worth the blood, sweat, tears, pain.
While I have done all of these great things, there are days when I have not done life well. When those days of doubt come, I have a great network to go to that reminds me just how far I have come. I know that the people that I do life with and have been with me on this journey will help get my focus back where it needs to be. Off of me. One verse that has helped A LOT is Isaiah 40:31 "Those who wait on the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." At first, I clung to the they will run and not get tired. I am almost there. I can run a lot farther and faster than I have ever been able to. I can walk and not get weary. However, the main focus of his verse is "Those that wait on the Lord". I want my body to do all of these things now. I want to be able to run farther, I want to be a smaller size, I want to... and the list goes on. What I need to remember in these times of discouragement, is that it isn't my timeline or my strength or my doing. I need to wait on the Lord. Most of this journey has been mental. I have had to change the way I think. While the physical change has been difficult, the mental change has been even more so. Changing your thought life is not easy. Forcing thoughts that have been in place for over 30 years to bend into something different is not easy. It is exhausting. Two of the aspects of the Daniel Plan are Friends and Focus. For me, the first was easy. I already had a great support system in place. Focus was and is the aspect that I struggle with. It's when my thoughts start going back to the old path that I get discouraged and stop waiting. This is where it gets tough. "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2. My thoughts are sin. My not waiting is sin.
When I have these thoughts, I run to my support system. They are the ones that pull me off of the ledge. They remind me how far I have come, even when it feels I have so far to go to get to where I want to be. They show me pictures of where I was and where I am now. They remind me that this isn't in my strength, but His.
So, eleven months ago, I changed my life. While the road has been bumpy, curvy, and sometimes unexpected blockades popped up, the overall journey has been so worth the blood, sweat, tears, pain.
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