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Forward Progress

4/30/2013

2 Comments

 
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In the post titled Pick Your Poison, I mentioned some friends of mine whose son just entered rehab for a drug addiction.  At the time, they were full of fear, uncertainty, and nervousness.  But even more than those emotions, they were filled with hope.  They hoped that their son would enter the program and stay there.  They hoped he would successfully follow the steps and not just detox, but also get to the root of why he does what he does.  They hoped he would come out on the other side a renewed man who was no longer enslaved to his addiction.  They hoped this was the first step toward a long, purposeful, and abundant life for their son.

Tonight, his dad stood in front of our church and spoke again.  He talked about how at times he is reluctant to do things that God calls him to do.  He talked about how pride can sometimes get in the way of doing things we know we should.  And he talked about how when we do those things despite ourselves, the reward is great.  And again I felt that although he was talking about his own journey, he was speaking to me.  I jokingly told him before he got up there not to make me cry.  He didn’t listen.

I’m not going to lie.  I am still reluctant to make big changes.  It is now almost 1 AM and I just ate a Snickers bar.  My love for comfort and ease sometimes just outweighs my desire to do what I know I should.  Sometimes I feel like I don’t have control over my own body.  I am in my own way.

I’m not telling you this because I need a pep talk or anything.  I don’t need to be told to hang in there.  I have no plans of quitting.  I don’t need to be told that I’m doing great.  I am doing fairly well in making some changes, but I know I can do better.  On the other hand, I also don’t need to be told that in order to succeed, I need to “just do it.”  I know what kind of resolve and dedication it is going to take to do this - but we all need to go through and fix and address different issues to get us to the point where we CAN just do it.  I’m working it out.

I’m telling you this because when I am struggling with doing things that I have been called to do, I like to hear about other people who are also having a hard time but are not giving up.  I find spiritual strength for my own journey in hearing about others who are persevering.  I don’t always want to hear about the person who had “the perfect plan” for success.   I don’t always want to see the happy after pictures.  We watch daytime TV and read magazines and we see people everywhere who have had complete body and life transformations.   And not to take anything away from those successes, but we don’t always hear about some of the rises and falls that these people go through in order to have “the perfect body“ or “the perfect life” being advertised.

Progress usually isn’t charted on a straight line.  It is full of ups and downs.  Some of those downs can be a cookie (or a Snickers bar) that shouldn’t have been eaten.  Other downs can be days when you swear off vegetables and vow to only eat Pizza Hut for the rest of your life.  But true progress happens when, instead of allowing our downs to keep dipping further, we turn it around and head back up again.  That’s what I need to continually make an effort to do…keep stretching myself further and further towards the goal.

Getting started is usually the hardest part to overcome.  It will take some of us longer than others, and that is okay.  As long as we are moving in the right direction and keep reminding ourselves how great it will be when we can finally claim our prize, we will get there.  And it will all be worth it.

Oh.  And the son of my friends…he called them today for the first time in over a month.  He called to tell them that he had completed phase one of his recovery and had been advanced to phase two.  He is happy.  He is healthy.  He is enthusiastic.  He is no longer addicted to heroin.  Now HE is the one who finally has hope.

Praise God.

“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:12-14


2 Comments
Jennifer Mills
4/30/2013 08:12:07 pm

I have been on my weight loss journey for just over 2 years now. I vowed to God and to myself that I would not quit this time!! I have had several ups and several downs. I have to say that for the past year I have gained and loss the same 5 lbs. frustrating yes, mostly my own fault yes! But I did make a vow to God that I would not give up and I plan to honor that vow! So, recently I realized I have kept 80 lbs. off for over a year!! I am focused on the fact that I have accomplished that instead of feeling like a failure for staying at that number for a year!!! Recently I joined a gym and although the scales have yet to reward me my clothes are getting bigger LOL so I am not going to say "Just do it!" although I know you can, that's between you and God. Just realize that it will take time, it will take changes, and 1 lb at a time will make a difference! (true story I used to have a 20 oz bottle of Mountain Dew and a Hershey Bar w/Almonds every morning at work - When I first started WW's I was big enough I still had the points to do that LOL- but eventually I had to change that habit- at first I really missed it - especially the Mountain Dew and Diet Dew did not help in any way it just made me mad I couldn't have the real thing! - I honestly can tell you over time I lost the desire for it - I can't remember the last time I had either one of those things - not to say that I wouldn't if I had the points for it and wanted to use them for that- but I really lost the desire for both!) Just remember start with baby steps find one thing to focus on and then another eventually it becomes habit!! I love you and you have inspired me to get back on track I weighed in this morning on my home scales at the lowest I have been since I started this journey it is only a couple of lbs. but for the last year I haven't seen in true loss so thank you!

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Shreveport Dating link
10/10/2013 05:13:06 pm

I liked your blog and went ahead and created a weebly blog too!

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