Monday, February 14, 2011

The One with the Giant Size Mountain





Here is a picture of me on my honeymoon (May 2007)


A few months after this picture was taken a couple of co-workers organized a "Biggest Loser" contest for our office. Everyone paid $10 to get in and at the end of the contest whoever lost the most percentage of weight would take home all the $.

I had reached the point where I knew I needed to make a change. I was the heaviest I had ever been and I felt horrible (physically and mentally). I heeded the advice of my in-laws and began the Couch-2-5k running plan. I also enlisted the help of my mother (who worked for weight watchers) and got eating advice from her. Over the 3 or 4 months of the contest I lost 30 pounds. It was the perfect jump-start that my body needed.

Here is a recent picture of me after losing 75 pounds....


I bring this all up because yesterday morning I had a conversation with one of our adult leaders who struggles with weight loss. Whether it is weight loss, credit card debt, or a negative self-image...we all face something. I remember feeling like a failure every time I fell off the diet wagon. It seemed that no matter how hard I tried that biscuits and gravy or a huge Pepsi was just too tempting. I couldn't resist it. It seemed the harder I tried the more tempting the food became. In those moments of failure the food seemed to be the only thing I could control or that was stable.

So think about it...what is/are the thing or things in your life that are preventing you from living the life you're meant to live?

Since losing 75 pounds and running (even if it is inconsistently) I feel better in various areas of my life. I used to worry whenever we would go out to eat that I would have to squeeze behind someone sitting in a chair and embarrass myself that I couldn't fit through. I use to worry about what people thought of me when I hadn't seen them since I put on a ton of weight.

I know I lost 75 pounds, but it feels like I've had 500 pounds lifted off my shoulders. I am free to live the life that I was designed to live because the weight and my self-image no longer holds me back.

The challenging thing is to think that it obviously wasn't an overnight weight-loss. I didn't swallow a magic pill or drink a magic concoction that helped me shed the weight. It was work. A LOT OF WORK!

The same is true for our spiritual lives...whatever obstacle that is blocking us from living the life Christ died for us to live...isn't going to disappear overnight. It's going to take time being in the Word and praying to Him. Prayers become our exercise where we strengthen our spiritual muscles. Where we're able to say no to the temptation that concurs us now.

So...stand up...lace up the shoes.....and concur whatever stands in your way!

4 comments:

  1. Very good! Our bad habits didn't develop overnight, and neither will the good ones. If we want something, we have to be willing to work at it. If we want a closer relationship with God, we have to put in the time. Thanks for this post!

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  2. Matt, you look great! (And I don't mean in that in a crazy stalker-ish way or anything, lol.) I also struggle with weight loss so I know how much of a hurdle that can be. It definitely takes time, will power and *lots* of prayer! Thanks for the encouraging words!

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  3. Matt, Your story was such an inspiration to me. I've felt for quite sometime that my weight is the one thing that is blocking me from being the person God has created me to be and serving Him in the way I feel He is calling me to serve. Thank you for reminding me that it is not a process grounded in "magic" but in prayer and hard work. Keep up the hard work, and thank you again for your encouraging words.

    God's Peace, Donna
    www.peace2sparkle.blogspot.com

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  4. I really enjoyed reading the posts on your blog. I would like to invite you to come on over to my blog and check it out. God bless, Lloyd

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