Today is Friday and it's been a good week for me. First there was the Monday holiday, followed by allergy tests on Tuesday. So my work week was only 2 days this week which was a real treat. A 4-day extended weekend culminated with a day off on Tuesday, almost like a mini-vacation.
In the past, this chain of events would have sparked a celebration - and celebrations are synonymous with food. Bring on the treats! Splurge! Live it up! However this time, although my Old Self yearned to head to Blondie's for those Amish sugar cookies with the frosting and colored sugar on top, my New Self put on the brakes before I could make such a drastic turn.
What came to mind during this little internal battle was something Lysa said early on in her book: "Define your week by obedience, not by a number on the scale." You see, the number on the scale has not moved in the right direction for two days. And that disappointment, coupled with the celebration of the mini-vacation, would normally be enough to send me back to Sugarland where Blondie's Cookies and frozen Cokes abound.
I am reminded once again that GOD knows my struggles and He cares for me, not necessarily my contentment. And while He cares for me, the real lesson to be learned is the "O" word: obedience. He cares so much for me that He wants my thoughts to turn to Him in the same way those thoughts used to turn to food.
I finished my first reading of Made to Crave yesterday during my lunch break. As with many books, I was sorry to see the last page turn. What I must do now to keep the momentum going, is to consult the notes and highlights. And it's time to make the ingestion of GOD's Word a regular meal, not just a snack. For too long I've gone to His well of Living Water for just enough to get me to the next drinking fountain. For too long I've nibbled on the crumbs of notes left from a sermon stuck in my Bible instead of sitting down to the banquet He prepared for me.
It's a shame that a silly little instrument like a scale has so much impact on my life. But that has been my yardstick for success in discipline and weight loss always. The scale does not lie. Getting weighed was proof positive whether I had been obedient in following the rules of whichever particular diet I was supposed to be following at the time. How will I measure my obedience-success now? GOD is in control. And while I will continue to weigh my body striving for downward trends, the real "plan" is not about the food: it's about following God and feasting on His Word.
From Lysa: "Each time I craved something I knew wasn't part of my plan, I used that craving as a prompt to pray. I craved a lot. So, I found myself praying a lot."
This evening I am thankful for a God who loves me too much to leave me this way. And I am thankful to a woman named Lysa who cared enough about other women to share her inspirational story in a way that encourages me forward.
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