The Fulfillment of a Goal

On January 1st this year, I made up my mind. Things had to change. And as the thought of new year's resolutions were everywhere, this was going to be my year to be intentional about them and change my life from the inside out.

It started with some things I was enlightened to during some counseling sessions I was taking part in last year. As part of the Spiritual Care program at Lincoln Berean Church, I had the opportunity to confront some very serious issues in my life. And the thing that continually struck me is that, during those sessions, we weren't talking about the things I expected. We were digging deeper. Much deeper. Painfully deep. But in that whole process, I learned a very valuable lesson that was screwing up a lot of my thinking. I learned to not look at a problem, but address the REASON for the problem. And that took some time for me. For someone who doesn't like to deal with conflict or admit I'm struggling with anything, it was very humbling for me to take these steps. And so started my transformation, my new way of thinking about my life and how I choose to deal with it.

The next part came after I heard a sermon preached from Pastor Bryan Clark on Psalm 134. It was July 31, 2011 to be exact. At first look, it looked to be somewhat of a "normal" passage...a few short verses of praise. But it quickly took an interesting turn for me when suddenly a light was turned on. He was speaking about the sense of sadness the people had for having to leave the temple because that's the one place the presence of God was, a place you had to visit to experience. I know I am totally butchering the context and meaning behind everything, but I did write down this one quote:

"The God of the universe longs to dwell with me far more than I long to dwell with Him. That is a remarkable and sobering story". ~ Pastor Bryan Clark

He could have said that 32 times before that day or even in previous months, but for whatever reason on that day, it stood out to me and it will be a sermon I will never forget. That morning, a very keen understanding awakened within me of the privilege it is to have the presence of God living within me, every day, every second...and how much I had been making light of that truth. My body and mind IS that temple and I owed God significantly more of myself than I was giving Him.

Pastor Bryan Clark
Lincoln Berean Church

If you have the time, I'd encourage you to listen to that exact sermon by clicking on the following link. It was a game changer for me:

https://sermons.lincolnberean.org/single.php?id=264

So, why am I writing about all of this today? 

Well, today I'm celebrating the fulfillment of the goal I set on January 1st. I committed myself to eating no fast food, drinking no pop, running consistently and honoring my temple. My goal was to lose 20 lbs, with nothing but healthy eating and exercise. The temptation along the way to add to that, to try questionable things, to make it work faster was definitely there. But I wanted to do it the healthy way because I felt that was the ONLY option I had in order to honor that commitment.

That being said, when I stepped on the scale this morning, I am down exactly 20 lbs. from where I started. I have broken down with the fast food and pop thing only during one week when we were in the soybean fields pulling weeds in the heat. But I quickly rebounded and got back on track. And I wanted to celebrate with you, not because I want you to tell me how proud you are or anything like that, but because it is simply one more area of my life where God has made Himself known to me...yes, even in fitness and healthy living, and the work He continues to do within me. And he has used three remarkable men in my life to bring about that change...my counselor, my pastor and my ever-supportive husband. "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD." ~ Psalm 134:2