Weight... Upon the Lord

"Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:30-31 (KJV)

In the month of September I had reached a weight that I had never seen before. It had been a stressful year for our family and I guess I tend to be a stress eater. As I contemplated the journey to losing weight, I knew it would be a difficult road. I have tried to lose weight in the past and have not been very successful.

But this time as I thought about the need to cut back on my eating, to work more on eating things that are healthy for me, and also to get back on the exercise routine, I knew that more than just those items needed to be changed. I sensed that this was one area of my life that I had maintained control over, instead of allowing the Lord to have control. I pretty much ate what I wanted, when I wanted. The Lord started prompted me that I would never have success in this area as long as I remained in charge.

So began my journey three and a half months ago. It started with a prayer asking for forgiveness for not giving this area to the Lord before, and also asking for Him to be in charge of my eating. I have been amazed that a lot of the junk food that I used to thoroughly enjoy, and had trouble saying 'no' to eating, has lost its hold on me.

I was discussing this with a dear (skinny) friend of mine who was amazed at my willpower and control, especially being able to continue to lose weight over the holidays when it is most tempting to overeat, or 'cheat'. I said it had nothing to do with me, but has to do with God. Don't get me wrong, I am far from perfect. There are times when I still eat sweets, but it is not very often. It no longer has possession of me. From time to time I will choose to eat snacks that aren't as healthy, but I usually try to weigh the cost first, and pray again for the Lord's help in controlling the amount I consume.

It's been a long journey for me, but I praise God for where He has me, even in the midst of ill health right now. I pray that I continue to learn and show others what it means to have God first place in my life - in all areas.... even when I'm not feeling well.