Family pictures! Yay đ well, actually itâs always kind of stressful and I really never like how I look. No matter how hard I work sometimes it’s hard to see the results. For me the number on a scale was how I defined success so that became almost an idol to me. Once I stopped stepping on the scale and started finding new ways to measure success I began to understand my worth wasnât in the numbers. This doesnât change my goals – I want to lose weight but I also want to be healthy in all areas of my life.Â
Ok, so what started this thought process for this blog post was seeing a bunch of other peoples side-by-sideâs. The company that I work for as an independent consultant is extremely motivating and supportive but sometimes itâs difficult because I see before and afterâs and I wonder why donât mind look that good?
So, here  is a side by side (Easter 2018 v. Easter 2019)
 I will be honest at first glance I thought well that was a wasted year – look at my (still) double chin and huge calves . . . . But then I stopped that negative self talk!! I prayed, and I thanked God for this beautiful family that I have.  This picture isn’t about me; itâs about a celebration that weâve been given new life to the resurrection of Christ! So I asked God to look into my heart and help me see how I really have changed because after all  christ has come to give us new life!!Â
So  I started to look closer. That girl on the left was wearing a smile and a pretty dress but was hurting emotionally, spiritually and physically. The girl on the left had an achy back, knees that cracked every time she got up and feet that hurt all the time. That girl on the left was still very angry at God and her body for failing her, miscarriage after miscarriage, she felt broken. She tried to find Jesus and let him in but pushed him away.  The pain was too hard. She turned to food for comfort. That girl felt left out all the time because the voices in her head told her she was too fat to try that class or go to that event or play with her son or go out on a date with her husband. That girl was great at hiding all of that inside.
Praise Jesus, I donât think I really know that girl anymore.Â
Fast Forward . . .Â
The girl on the right – she is still a work in progress. She has good days and bad days.  She still asks, why not me God, when a friend gets the joyful news she is pregnant again.  But she looks ever hopeful towards adoption because she knows Christ is going to complete the good work in her  Because he knows the desires of her heart! But, you see, that girl, well she spends more quality time in the Word now, draws closer to the Lord in prayer more often and as a result knows the truth the Lord speaks is more powerful than any lie Satan can try to use against her. That girl on the right doesnât hide her emotional pain but shares it and asks that God show her how to use it for His glory.  While that girl is more than a few dress sizes smaller and has lost inches of fat her scale hasnât moved in weeks . . . BUT She can workout NOW. Those calves support her body and help her stabilize her body! Actually that girl just signed up for three exercise classes this week!! She is smiling because now she can walk up a set of stairs without being out of breath. She is smiling becsuse she is stronger, inside and out. Most importantly, that girl sees what she can do, not what she canât!  And she is thankful every day that she has the power of Christ in her that enables her to do the things he has called her to do according to his purpose!Â
What a difference a year makes. That summer I made some changes and decided I was done being that girl on the left! Â I am still very much a work in progress. My journey goes on, but defining the end goal differently has helped me so much.Â
I want to be strong, healthy and constantly seeking my Lord.
Psalm 139:23-24â
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
If youâre struggling with your own thoughts of anger of loneliness or feeling hopeless that you can never change or drowning your sorrows there is hope in Jesus. His truth can set you free!Â
If you are the girl on the left please reach outâ turn to your spouse, your sister, your colleague, lean in to the Word, press in prayer, find a womenâs group, join a bible study -message me!
Your value is not found in any number on a scale or a fancy new diet trend – You are valuable and special because you were created by and are loved by the same God who created the heavens and the earth and sent his only Son for you. He cares about your emotional, physical and spiritual well being but thatâs because he loves us so completely. Use that power to press through and make this year the year you start becoming the person He designed you to be!!
Ketomama 