New Year’s Resolution……again……
Morning coffee on a cold, dark, morning and I look forward
to alone time to spend with my computer and begin a new post for a new year.
Pouring coffee I sigh as I realize that last year I talked about losing weight
and looking at myself, I failed, again….
Then I think about how my husband and I spent yesterday, early afternoon.
You see, we cleaned out a closet and I went through old pocketbooks. All of
them were filled with the same things. A few coins in corners, gum wrapped in a
piece of paper, old pieces of hard candy, gum wrappers, missing earrings and
necklaces, and countless receipts and church bulletins. I begin to think about
how long it had been since I had carried some of those purses and realized, not
much has changed about me. The only purses that did not have stuff left in them
were the three new expensive bags I got last year. Those purses were cleaned
out and placed neatly in their little bag for storage.
This made me think, how do I see myself every year that I
fail at the same resolution? A cheap imitation or a priceless temple that
deserves to be well taken care of?
Don’t you realize
that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given
to your by
God? You do not
belong to yourself, you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify
God with our body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
In full context, this scripture deals with sexual sin, but I
choose it for today, because of verse 20. We were purchased at a price and we
should glorify God with our body. You see, many years, I have sat in church and
knew that gluttony is a sin, however, I have never heard a Pastor speak on it,
that is, that I remember, until last year, when our new pastor touched on it
during a sermon. I was very uncomfortable and I squirmed in my self-righteous
chair. 4 years ago my Doctor put me on a daily steroid for asthma and within a
few months my weight sky-rocketed. 4 years ago was also one of the most
difficult times for my husband and I, as the enemy took vengeance on our family
by attacking our older children. I ate and then ate some more, I stopped
exercising, found solace in a new subscription to a TV streaming company, and
decided that eating, knitting, and binge watching would fill my days. Now don’t
get me wrong, nothing wrong with knitting, after all, even God knits us
together in our mother’s womb.
Fast forward 4 years, 50 pounds, and a doctor visit on
December the 12th where my doctor told me where I am on the BMI chart, and
said, “You will die earlier at this weight. Fix it.” Yes, she said this, yes she is still my doctor
of 21 years, and I love her. She delivered both of my boys and she is not
afraid to deliver truth. The next morning, all I could hear is, you will die…..
So, on December the 13th, I joined Weight Watchers and had great
success the first week. Then Christmas came, and now a sinus infection and
enflamed asthma has me on heavy steroids, but, I’m not going to beat myself up.
I am taking care of my temple and I will continue to do so.
So, what does this have to do with those pocketbooks? Well,
first, every time I change pocketbooks, I tell myself that I am not going to
leave stuff in them, anymore, as I leave stuff in them. Second, I always find
candy that I’ve hidden, because I have struggled with my weight for many, many
years. Third, you cannot expect old habits to die overnight, but as I learned
from the expensive bags, when you place value on something, you treat it
better. So, I am placing value on my temple. This is an instrument of God, a
testimony, and I want to be a light in this dark world. It starts with
realizing how expensive my temple is. You see, this temple, cost a King, His
life.
Father God, tears
steam down my cheeks with the words last typed. My whole life I have seen
myself as a disposable old purse, instead of a more expensive one that deserve
better treatment. My New Year’s resolution is not to lose weight, run a 5K, or
give up sugar, it is to recognize the value of myself. I lift up those reading
this today, which they also will choose a resolution to place value on
themselves in God-fearing humble way and realize that we are so valuable, that
a King died in our place. Thank you. Amen
