“Darling, you need to eat your green beans.”
“But Mom, I don’t want to. I don’t like green beans.”
“But dear, they are good for you and help you to grow and to make you strong.”
“I know, you done told me that, but I don’t like ‘em”. I don’t want to!!!
We all really know deep down inside what we should and should not eat in order to be healthy. It comes as no surprise that fresh produce, lean proteins and whole grains full of fiber should top our grocery list. We know that our bodies were made to move and that exercise is so good for us in so many ways including weight control. So why is it that we know more or less what to do and just don’t do it? Could it be that we are just like a child that doesn’t want to eat their veggies and just don’t want to? We will jump at any chance to try something, anything that claims results by any other method other than eating right and hard work. No one ever said a healthy lifestyle was easy, OK so I’m lying. People have said that, but newsflash, they were lying, too :).
What is easy is to find excuse after excuse …I don’t have time… I’ll start on Monday…I’m really not in that bad of shape…I’m so far gone, it would take too long. I’m going to just give up before I get started…
What if we just reached way down inside and found our “want to” and let go of the “need to”, “ought to”, “the doctor wants me to”, “should“, “could if”, and “would if”? What if we just made a decision to do it and then made small steps to get it done? What if instead of looking for an overnight miracle, we could just set our mind to it and put our feet on the right path (facing the right direction away from the Little Debbie Snack Cakes) and started the journey – realizing that it would be a journey – knowing it would be a process of one good decision after another and that would eventually add up to something wonderful.
What if you didn’t go it alone? What if you made it a spiritual journey as well? What if you made it a matter of prayer and invited God to go along with you on your journey? That’s what worked for me and continues to work for me. That’s how my journey began. It started with a heart to heart conversation with God. I spilled my guts about feeling defeated and out of control in this area of my life. He showed me scriptures that spoke on self-control and over eating. He reminded me that I was His child and should never feel defeated as I have access to His power (“I can do ALL things through CHRIST which strengthens me” Phil 4:13). My first change was a healthy breakfast and a commitment to exercise (walk) just a couple of times a week. From there I added in more healthy habits as I felt I could and dropped other unhealthy habits one by one relying on prayer and scripture for my strength to overcome temptation. It was slow but beautiful and is still in process. It was, it is, a journey.
Have you started your journey?
I plan on sharing other insights, scriptures, recipes, etc here on my blog from my journey, past and present. My hope and prayer is that they will reach someone that needs a fresh touch, new idea, or little nudge on their journey.
Stay tuned.
