Life is dessert

It's been several day since my last post.  Life has been very busy recently, and the days ebb and flow, one into another.  Some nights when I lie down to sleep I wonder what happened to the 16 or 17 hours just past... where did they go? 

One Thousand Gifts, which I am re-reading and savoring even more the second time through,  reminded me this week that "Life is dessert - too brief to hurry.  You don't want to wolf it down."  Like the author, "I want to slow down and taste life, give thanks and see God."

Seeing God in all the small stuff is not entirely new to me, but these past few weeks my antennae have been especially fine-tuned to His presence and His creation.  I tear up at the sight of a sunrise, at the hum of the combine outside my window, at the sight of the orangey gold maple leaves falling to the ground... the sky seems more brilliant than in past autum seasons, but I KNOW it's been like this before. It's just that... well, I'm aware, much more aware of what God is up to. 

This journey of learning to crave God more than food and "stuff" has taken up residence in my heart and soul.  Oh sure, I have moments when I "don't want to do this anymore" but it's a short argument in my own mind:  If I don't do this anymore, look at what I am giving up - and look at what I am wasting.  Discipline has never been one of my best traits.  If it were, I would never have gotten so extremely heavy in the first place.  So the battle for my mind continues between God and the Evil One who would like for me to give up, give in, throw in the towel and have a slice of devil's food cake!

The UP side to continuing my journey has so many aspects that I cannot name them all.  It's obvious that I will continue toward a healthy weight, even though I may never arrive at my "ideal weight" according to the Wii-Fit that antagonizes me daily (119.5... REALLY???????).  I will continue to have health benefits that I currently enjoy - no indigestion, less joint pain, better sleep pattern.  My joy will hopefully continue to erupt more frequently - sometimes I just want to shout to the wind how GREAT GOD IS! And the biggie: my walk with the Lord Jesus Christ has grown closer.  I'm beginning to hear His sandals scuffing along the sidewalk beside me.

In order to grow stronger in discipline and stronger in my faith, it's imperative that I stay in God's Word - everyday.  As Ann Voskamp puts it, "Without God's Word as a lens, the world warps."  That's putting it mildly.

My own world is by no means perfect.  I see room for change and improvement all around me and every time I look in the mirror.  But I'm taking firm steps forward and  "...always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."  (Ephesians 5:20)

I've recently witnessed bitterness and discontent in the hearts of two elderly ladies.  My greatest fear is that will be ME someday.  Did those women ever feel as I do now... that God is GREAT and that He is all I need?  If so, when and how did they lose that knowledge?  Life is dessert...and I refuse to hurry through it.