Hello friends of Elm Park & Otego UMC’s!
I wish you all a most blessed January and New Year!
I wanted to take some this month to share some new things in my life. Back in September, I had my annual physical at my doctor’s office, and I received bad and good news.
Let’s start with the bad news as they normally say. My blood pressure was very high, as were my cholesterol, and triglycerides, etc. The bloodwork didn’t look great. My weight had brought me into the pre-diabetic range. To put it bluntly, I was a mess! My discipline and motivation seemed to be at an all-time low, and things weren’t working like they used to.
My weight has been up and down my entire life. I never really cared about going up in weight, because I was always able to go down in weight whenever I wanted, easily. But then something happened…I turned 40 years old. Changes that have naturally occurred in my body seemingly changed my metabolism. My weight wasn’t dropping anymore, and my discipline and motivation continued to take fierce hits.
Then, during a sermon, I caught myself telling the congregations that our bodies are vessels given to us by God for our earthly journeys and that we are obviously tasked with taking care of them. But I wasn’t doing that myself. At that moment, I knew what would assuredly work this time.
So later that day, I made the commitment to lose weight again. I was looking to lose at least 75lbs. This was no small task and would be difficult. “God, I’m going to try this again, but I’m going to need your strength this time.” And I had to start right away. This month we will be talking about how the time is never right to make a big change. So you just have to jump in!
As I write this, I have lost 59 of the 75 pounds I needed to drop. What made the difference is I remembered Gary. Gary was a former parishioner of mine who at 75 years old dropped 100 pounds completely eliminating the need for regular oxygen. I realized I was blaming being in my 40s as an excuse to not have to dedicate myself to the task. With that understanding, and regular prayer asking for strength, I’m almost all the way to where I need to be.
Friends, when we find ourselves troubled, God is not going to pop up in front of our face, in human form, with the solution to our problems. It would be sooooooo convenient if it worked like that, right? But, it doesn’t. We have to put in the effort. Yes, even when you’re unmotivated. Yes, even when you’re depressed. With God, we create motivation. We create discipline. We create transformation. With God, the opportunities are endless.
I hear often from people that they don’t see God at work. It’s easy to not see God at work in our culture today, as we continue to be a culture that tells God He is not welcome in our activities. But I hope that this story about my own transformation can help you see that God IS at work. Prior to this journey, I found myself sluggish, exhausted, and probably even a little depressed. However, I now find myself energized, motivated, disciplined, and ready to conduct God’s work.
Back in September when I began this journey, I originally told myself the timing wasn’t right. The holidays are coming up and there’s going to be a lot of high-calorie snacking. Then I realized that there always seems to be an excuse. I wonder what mine would have been if I had waited until 2025.
There’s no right time to begin taking care of yourself. Jump in! Begin today!
Your brother-in-Christ,
Pastor John
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