Get Healthy for Him

I was running on the treadmill at the gym last night.  I had my ear buds in and was listening to music when I glanced down at the 4-way TV that sits in the main, open part of the gym.  On the screen were the words:  “Get healthy for Him.” Now, I’m sure there are a number of ways you could look at this statement. I don’t even know what the advertisement was for, but I assume it was for something probably totally worldly and meant something along the lines of getting in shape for your spouse or the man in your life. For me it wasn’t that at all.
I’m not trying to push religion on you as I totally respect there are many out there who have their own ideas about religion, but since this is my personal blog, a place where I write my thoughts and experiences in regards to my own journey, for me it was a statement about getting healthy for the one who made it possible for me to even be here - God, the one who created this world we are blessed to live in. 

I know I have mentioned it before in previous posts but I oftentimes will reflect back and marvel at the human body as a whole. I feel like it’s a gift that is given to each one of us and it’s our job and responsibility to take care of it. I’m a firm believer that God doesn’t ever give us things He doesn’t know we are capable of overcoming. I know for me I was a slow learner on this one. In fact, for so many years of my life I think I was angry at the fact that I was fat. I would think things like, “Why did God give me a fat body and slow metabolism? What’s up with my families genetics? I’ll always be big!” 

It wasn’t until a few years ago, on a little hike, on a small mountain in Washington, that I realized that this was just part of the test for me. We’re all dealt a deck of cards. I call them the cards of our life. They may represent different things for each one of us. One of mine included overcoming obesity. Others that don’t pertain to me but might relate to someone else are cards consisting of things like, overcoming a terminal illness, not overcoming a terminal illness, family tragedy, will I get married?, will I ever have children?, will I be able to afford to go to college?, will I have grandchildren?, diabetes, heart disease, and the list can go on……

The bottom line is that no matter what cards are in the deck we are dealt, it is up to us to make the most of what we’ve been given so we can be successful in playing our cards right. Nobody can deal with it for us. Sure, we can have awesome support (Believe me, I have!) and people cheering us on, but when it comes down to it, no one can do the work for us but ourselves. Honestly, that is why my relationship with God has become so intimate over the past several years. I’ve always been a religious person but this was different. I had a lot to work through, a lot of healing to do, and I had to start to put my trust in something I had never believed in before…ME! Instead of being angry at God for the body I was given, I had to first apologize for the many years of self-destruction and putting the blame on food and others. I had to relinquish my anger towards Him in giving me this body in the first place, and learn that He loved and adored me from the beginning and wants only what is best for me. That together, He and I can work as a team and be successful in molding my body into what I wanted it to become. 

Life is definitely a journey, but I believe with the right people in your path, and you working towards becoming the best you know you can be, all things are possible.