Jen’s Gem: Your God-DNA is all that counts.
Last year, I made a commitment to lose weight. I wrote about my journey periodically in this blog. For the most part, I have been able to keep it off, save for a pound or two that seems to want to creep back on from time to time. I can tell when the scale will tip higher by how I feel in my clothes.
But sometimes my clothes play tricks on me. Sometimes they feel bigger on me than they really are so I need to visit the scale to confirm my suspicions. I won’t lie. I don’t look forward to those visits. That piece of metal in my guest bathroom, sitting there so calmly, has the power to transform my day.
If the number that I want to see appears – happy dance! If not, well, let’s just say there’s no dancing. I walk out of the room, dejected, feeling like a failure, admonishing myself for giving in to that popcorn craving or that extra helping of pasta. If only you would have… Maybe if you didn’t…
I’m not one of those people who are blessed with a super-fast metabolism. My “speedy” blessing is my typing and my talking. (If only these could burn calories!) Therefore, pretty much whatever I eat stays with me. Those little indulgences park in their favorite spots like my hips and it will take a recommitment to eating healthier and upping my walking to get them to move out.
“Chips on the hips” is what my son will say to me when he sees me reaching for the treat after dinner. We laugh for a moment or two as he says the same thing about himself when he makes that same visit. However, being a young twenty-something male, six feet tall with muscles that defy logic, his “chips” seem to find their way into a completely different parking lot!
There may be some who are reading this post and saying – “Really Jen? Really? You’re stressing over a pound or two? Try ten!” Yep – I’m stressing over a pound or two. You see at only a couple of inches above five feet, every pound counts. I prayed to be tall when I was younger, but I guess God likes my vertically-challenged stature because that was one prayer that went unanswered.
It would be nice to eat whatever I want and never have to look at a scale again. While I do go weeks without making a visit, in order to ensure I’m staying on the straight and narrow, I do have to check in periodically so that I can face the truth and take steps to recalibrate.
This week, I will celebrate my birthday. Other than Christmas, it’s my favorite day of the year. Perhaps because it’s close to the 4th of July, I sort of feel like the whole country is wishing me well on my special day. Silly, I know. This country has other things on its mind sadly.
Perhaps it’s time for all of us to face the number on the scale – to see ourselves for who we really are. Are we as accepting as we claim to be? Are we as loving and forgiving as we should be – as God commanded us to be? Not likely. But we can be. We just need to up our visits to the scale and recalibrate.
Facing the truth about ourselves is tough. No one likes to admit when they’ve failed. I know I sure don’t. My goal-oriented, competitive, and achievement-centered self wants to win, to excel. It’s in my DNA. I’ve tried to dial my Type-A personality down but the best I’ve been able to do is an A-minus.
I figure if God wanted me to be a Type B personality, He would’ve made me that way. If God wanted me to be tall, He would’ve made me that way. If God wanted me to be loving and forgiving, He would’ve…oh wait…He did make me that way. Not only did He make me that way, but He also gave me some help when I forget.
We were created in God’s image. Therefore, we look like Him – inside and out. Since God is all good – He cannot create anything that is evil. Since God is love, He cannot create hatred. Since God is powerful, He cannot create anything that is weak. In short, God is our Father in heaven, so just like our earthly father, the DNA we get from God, has to match His.
However, through the trials and tribulations we face on this planet, we can forget our God-DNA. We forget who we are. Without daily reminders, we can find ourselves so far from our God-DNA, that we become unrecognizable. We need a visit to the scale to face the truth so that we can chart a new course.
People ask me why I read the Bible every day, why I go to Bible college, and attend weekly studies of God’s Word. Simple. I need a constant reminder of who I am in God’s eyes. I need to see myself as He sees me so that I don’t fall prey to what the world says about me. His opinion is the only one that matters.
The world would tell me that I’m weak because I can’t maintain a perfect weight. The world would tell me that I’m crazy for writing a book that details my personal walk with God. The world would tell me that no one will listen to my podcast that releases next week. If I listen to the world, I’d be holed up in my closet for the rest of my life, questioning my worth and value.
Not happening. Not on this birthday or however many I have left. I’ve lost too much time placing weight on the world’s opinion of me. Today, I’m going with God’s opinion, which is the truth.
I’d like to encourage you this week to get on the scale. Face whatever challenge is in front of you and make a commitment to change. Know these truths: God is with you. Nothing is impossible with Him. You can do all things through Christ who is your strength.
Remember these truths. Remember your God-DNA.