Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Wednesday Weigh-In: My Battle with Food, Exercise, and Body Image



Oh mt WORD! I cannot believe it has been a month and a half since I posted about my journey!

I wish i could say that everything is going as planned.

I'm still doing fine, but "fine" is not what I want. 

Just yesterday, a friend chewed me out because I've worked SO hard for so long only to let "life" get get me sidetracked. As much as I hated everything my friend had to say, every bit of it was true. 

It's hard to keep focused on a goal, especially one that seems soooo far off, when life erupts around us. I say "us" because I KNOW I am not the only one who struggles with this.

It is EASY to lose focus when there are more things than I can count distracting me from my goal. I have hard days. I get really tired. Some days I feel like I'm going to explode (or implode) from stress and anxiety. Some days I just feel...meh. I get sick. Other people need my time and attention. Most times, when I feel completely overwhelmed or feel like my life is out of control, I turn to food. 

Does food solve my problems? Of course not. Does it make me feel better? No, not really. In the end, it adds to my anxiety because I know I shouldn't have binged on whatever I binged on.


As I am typing this out, I am reminded of another goal: growing as a Christian. Whether the goal is to grow closer to Christ, to look more like Christ, to share Christ with others, to love like Christ, or some combination of these plus others,  it is easy to let "life" distract us from our goal.

It's EASY to lose focus when so many things distract us. There are MULTIPLE people, events, commitments, and responsibilities demanding our time each day. Most of  us rush from one thing to another all day and into the evening. We get tired. We feel "meh". We have days when we are overwhelmed by... life. Many times I turn to something other than God to soothe and comfort my heart when I am feeling overwhelmed.

Does choosing something other than God to fill me solve my problem? Of course not. Does it make me feel better? Maybe for a moment, but in the end, it adds to my pain because I know I should have turned to God for comfort. In my worst moments, I am left with added guilt from sin, a tarnished witness and a damaged testimony.

Life gets hard. Keeping our eye on our ultimate goal can be challenging. Just like getting (or one day keeping) my body in shape takes intentional effort, keeping my spiritual life growing and healthy takes intentional effort. Life is distracting, but nothing compares to reaching the goal you've been working for.

Till next week!
Hugs!
K