Plateaus and Perseverance

I knew it had been awhile since I last posted, but didn't realize it had been that long. That just goes to show you how much time we can lose when we aren't really aware of decisions we are making.

I have had a slow going of this journey. First week's weight loss was 2.1 - woohoo! Then came week two, lost 1/2 pound ... then week 3, stayed the same ... and now this week ... down 3 pounds! In my "previous life" (LOL) I would have probably been very frustrated and given up after two straight weeks of plateau. But I didn't. I kept reminding myself that I had given God this year, and I was going to "keep on keeping on." And, yay God!, this morning I was down 3 pounds. In addition to reminding myself of my promise to God, I also kept thinking about something I heard on Biggest Loser. They said whenever you are faced with a decision, ask yourself, "will this take me closer to my goal?" That one little question has made me make some very different decisions. This process is a journey, and no immediate gratification or quick fix scheme will work. We may be tempted by the pleasure of the moment of some food I want NOW instead of remembering the end goal! After all ... as the First Place program reminds us, we make CHOICES, not MISTAKES. Everything we do (or don't do) is a choice. Hebrews 12:1-2 states, "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out before us." The study adds, "the things that hinder you are usually external circumstances, while the sins that entangle you are within." The definition of perseverance is "to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement." To me, "in spite of" means - don't let them keep me from MY goal! Our life is never going to be static; there will always be challenges but we have to stick with our resolve to keep moving forward, even if that sometimes means 2 steps forward and 1 step back ... that is still forward progress as long as we keep going!

Let us all continue to Believe ... Trust ... Persevere! Then we can rejoice in Christ's message in Revelation 2:2 - "I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance."