In May I will celebrate an amazing anniversary - five years since reaching my goal of losing 120 pounds (I lost 6 more pounds in Transition, for a total loss of 126 pounds). The journey to get to a healthy weight was amazing and absolutely transformational for me, not only physically, but also emotionally, mentally and spiritually. As a result of getting myself healthy, I have been privileged to help hundreds of others get healthy as well and now work full-time doing just that and was able to leave my full-time corporate job almost 4.5 years ago.
Even with all that has happened in my life over these past several years, I still find myself in awe and thanksgiving on occasion at the realization of how different things would have been had I not decided to give Take Shape for Life/Medifast a "one month try" in June of 2007.
Our oldest daughter gave birth to her second set of twins (yes, SECOND!) just over five months ago, on August 29. Since Maddie and Evie were born, I have been over to her house almost every Tuesday and Thursday morning to help her first set of twins, Zach and Olivia, age 6, get ready and out the door for kindergarten, then I usually spend the morning at her house helping with the never-ending piles of laundry and, of course, changing diapers and helping with babies. I'm at her house by 7:30 AM (about a 20 minute drive) and it's busy from the minute I get there until I leave for home, usually close to noon. While I'm there, I'm up and down stairs multiple times and just BUSY! Yesterday I couldn't help but think how difficult or impossible it would be for me to do this right now if I hadn't first gotten myself healthy . . .
Because I'd been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2005, had I not gotten healthy I would now be on medications for that along with medications for high cholesterol, blood pressure and gastric reflux. My knees and back would hurt all the time and I physically wouldn't have been able to be bouncing up and down stairs like I do now, especially if I was still carrying 260+ pounds on my body. There is simply no way that I would be able to provide the level of help to my daughter, nor would I be able to come home from her house and put in a busy afternoon and evening. I thought about that yesterday morning after making my umpteenth trip up and down stairs and I was filled with gratitude!
Had I not gotten myself healthy, I wouldn't have the joy of helping others do the same now. Instead, I would still be working 40+ hours a week at the hospital, tied to a set work day and unable to spend two mornings a week helping my daughter and rocking babies. Being self-employed and able to organize my schedule around what's important to me is a huge, unexpected blessing that resulted from this program - I am so thankful.
I'm sharing this with you today because, if you're just getting started on this program, you truly have no idea what blessings may result because of the choices you're making today. I just wanted to lose a few pounds when I started - I couldn't fathom the possibility that I'd actually get to a healthy weight. And I certainly had no expectation that God would use this program as the vehicle to radically change my entire life from the inside out!
You may be feeling a bit weary of the whole thing right now. Perhaps you're bored with the food and wondering if it's really worth it. I'm here to tell you that it IS worth it - more than you can possibly know! The choices you're making today may have a ripple effect on areas of your life that you can't even imagine right now. That's OK . . . the changes will happen as you continue to choose wisely :-)
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