You Can Only Start From Where You Are Right Now.

We are all on a journey.  The journey can be intentional or not.  My husband, Jimmy, once told me that change is inevitable, but positive change only happens on purpose.  So, today I want to turn toward an intentional, on purpose direction in my journey.  The purpose is to honor God by obeying Him as a steward of the good health He has blessed me with.  Many times, I have accepted substitutes for His plan because the substitutes looked so good.  Like the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that the serpent used to tempt Eve, substitutes for God’s perfect plan sometimes look good and are really hard to resist.  And even when you have already given in to the temptation and found that it brought pain and disappointment, took things from you that you wanted and gave you things you didn’t want, the substitute is still super hard to let go of.  But if we hang onto the substitution, we can’t get to the destination God has planned for us.  And His planned destination and the journey itself is always good.  1 Peter 2:2-3 says, ^“2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, ³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” I’ve tasted God’s goodness and I’ve tasted substitutes for His goodness, and I want His good plan because I know, His grace is better than anything I can find.

At 43 years old, when I was expecting our third son, Matthew, I was diagnosed early on with  gestational diabetes.  I was at the highest weight I had ever been in my life.  I was determined to do whatever it took to make sure I gave my baby boy the best possible start I could.  As part of my treatment, I met with a dietician.  She advised me to count carbs for meals and snacks to control my blood sugar.  My precious baby was a huge motivator, and I stuck to the plan.  Within a few days after Matthew was born, I realized that by following the lower carb plan during my pregnancy, I had lost 50 pounds!  But without the motivation of my baby’s health, I fell back into my old habits, giving in to the old temptations, and gained an average of 10 pounds every three months until I had gained back all of the 50 pounds.

So, here I am, Starting Now.   One day I was complaining to Jimmy if only I had started being healthier earlier, and he answered, “You can only start where you are. Nobody can start where anybody else is.”  There have been many days I thought, “I will start tomorrow.  I will plan ahead and do better,”  but I will never start obeying God if I don’t obey Him right here, right now.  So, if  I’m going to start, it has to be today.  So my surrender to the will of God and not my own starts right now.  And the steps are in front of me.

Step One:  Seek first the kingdom of God.  God is my source of strength and guidance, so I need Him first and more than anything else.

Step 2:  Never eat sweets or chips.  These are two trigger foods that lead me further than I want to go pretty much every time I give in to them.  So, no.

Step 3:  Count Carbs.  I’m following the dietician’s recommendations of 60 carbs per meal, and 30 carbs per snack.

Step 4:  Walk 30 minutes every day.  My goal is to lift weights on a regular basis and walk a 5k, but walking 30 minutes a day is a place to start.

“It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
³³ He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And sets me on my high places.”   Psalm 18:32, 33

God is the One Who strengthens me to take the steps He calls me to.  So, my journey is aimed in the direction of obedience to His will, starting now.