There's an old hymn I remember from my childhood. The refrain goes:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Sounds easy when written on paper, or cyberpaper, doesn't it? In reality, it isn't always. Similarly, other goals in our lives require us to stay focused. Like weight loss. If we're not focused on our goals and the steps to get there, we lose control and stop losing weight.
I've learned this lesson in recent days. Just when I was injury-free and feeling whole again, one of our children called with the distressing news that his second marriage seemed to be on the brink of failure. Because we are his go to people in times of trouble, as parents should be, he calls us to "listen." Honestly, he mostly calls his mom, ME! I do alright until I stop "just listening" and start trying to help. The call to arms then is "S-T-R-E-S-S."
We each one knows what stress does to us. For me, it sends my feet straight to the kitchen, my hands straight to sweets and junk, and then I direct the crap over my tongue and into my tummy. Stress also sends me into mild depression. I want to sleep. Sleep doesn't equate to exercise in any form.
Take this formula: Stress + Food + Sleep - Exercise = Weight Gain. And that's where I've been the last few weeks.
It suddenly occurred to me yesterday, and I know this already, that there is nothing I can do for this adult child and his problematic marriage. It is for him and his wife to work out, and I hope and pray that they do. I have struggles of my own, one of which is losing weight and getting healthy. If they are to accomplish their goal, they need to focus on better communication and a good relationship. If I am to lose weight and get healthy, I need to eat healthy and exercise. We neither one can solve the other's problem.
So, as the old hymn goes, I've got to keep my eyes upon Jesus in all things, and even in my desire to lose weight by keeping my eyes on the goals, it will be all that much easier.
Blessings to each of you as you strive to reach your goals in life, whatever they may be.
I've learned this lesson in recent days. Just when I was injury-free and feeling whole again, one of our children called with the distressing news that his second marriage seemed to be on the brink of failure. Because we are his go to people in times of trouble, as parents should be, he calls us to "listen." Honestly, he mostly calls his mom, ME! I do alright until I stop "just listening" and start trying to help. The call to arms then is "S-T-R-E-S-S."
We each one knows what stress does to us. For me, it sends my feet straight to the kitchen, my hands straight to sweets and junk, and then I direct the crap over my tongue and into my tummy. Stress also sends me into mild depression. I want to sleep. Sleep doesn't equate to exercise in any form.
Take this formula: Stress + Food + Sleep - Exercise = Weight Gain. And that's where I've been the last few weeks.
It suddenly occurred to me yesterday, and I know this already, that there is nothing I can do for this adult child and his problematic marriage. It is for him and his wife to work out, and I hope and pray that they do. I have struggles of my own, one of which is losing weight and getting healthy. If they are to accomplish their goal, they need to focus on better communication and a good relationship. If I am to lose weight and get healthy, I need to eat healthy and exercise. We neither one can solve the other's problem.
So, as the old hymn goes, I've got to keep my eyes upon Jesus in all things, and even in my desire to lose weight by keeping my eyes on the goals, it will be all that much easier.
Blessings to each of you as you strive to reach your goals in life, whatever they may be.
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