Sometimes I will write down a title and nothing comes for days or weeks. Today’s title was written down on 8/18, about 3 weeks ago, but it finally came to me this morning.
A friend sent me a meme yesterday with a conversation occurring between two caricatures: Growth and Comfort. Growth says to Comfort – “This is just not going to work.” I look back over the last few months and I see how that conversation has happened in my own life. I’m not comfortable sharing my personal stories with the world, but yet I’ve been asked to share my personal testimonies with others, in the hope that they will get a word of comfort – but this has stretched me beyond my comfort level. I can’t even share with you the blessings and the deeper conversations and friendships that have followed as a result.
I’ve also shared with you multiple times how I enjoy working out and have made it a part of my daily routine. Sometime in August, my favorite instructor resigned. I’m guessing better opportunities presented themselves and she took them (change). A combination of being busy and not being ready to try something new, I haven’t gone to the classes in over a month (reluctant to accept change). When I got to the gym this morning – too late to join the class, there was a relatively new Zumba instructor, and I heard the music and saw the steps, I realized that they were having fun (without me). I worked out on the elliptical, and my thoughts started coming together as I saw how much I was missing by not accepting change.
Earlier this year, I had lost 25 lbs since I started my journey – and I felt amazing and was so proud of myself. But something happened, I went back to my comfort zone of eating whatever I wanted, and I’ve gained back 10. While the damage is not fully done, I know that I need to step outside my comfort zone and continue to push myself, and to change my routine and re change my eating habits to get to the place I really want to be (change, again).
Yesterday I shared a photo (not even seeing how this would fit into today’s thought), but it does. It showed a series of pictures with a conversation between a man and God. The man is standing on a ledge, and the other ledge is much farther away. He asks God for help, and God told him to jump. He questioned God, and told him he couldn’t jump that far, but God told him to jump. When he finally did, there was a rock not too much farther below him, with a staircase that led to the other ledge (which he couldn’t see). And the words that accompanied the pictures read “When God shows you the way, you don’t need to see the whole staircase. Sometimes all you need is a giant leap of faith to get started. Then your way ahead will keep unfolding.” Dhiru Bhai Ambani
What changes are you fearing today?
Lord, we thank you for all you do. I ask that you give us the courage to make whatever the necessary first step is, so that you can get us to the place that you need us to be. Help us to continue to trust you, even when we cannot see the whole staircase, we know that all things are working out for the good of those who love you.