Posted on 05/16/2011 12:20:40 PM PDT by MintyHippo1980
was an English major...you do the math! ;-)
Unless you're in even worse mathematical shape than I am, you probably don't need to have it pointed out to you that this is part 2 of a 2-part blog post. Just in case you missed part 1, you should probably check it out first so you aren't totally lost...and so you don't miss out on a few cute pictures of my kids and grandkids! You would NOT want to miss those!
OK...here are a couple pictures of some of my cuties just for fun:
Here are Jayla and Asher, enjoying Sammi Jo's baby seats. Who has adorable grandkids? Me!
And here are Jamie, Daniel, Sam, Mercy, and Mary on Mother's Day at my mom's house. Why are they mostly dressed in costume? Because the costumes are there. Perhaps a flair for the dramatic is genetic?
Those pictures don't have anything to do with my bariatric surgery in the least! I just like to show off the brood at every opportunity!
But, anyway...I have been thinking lately about how it has affected me to essentially lose an entire person (if you would be willing to concede that a lot of entire people weigh about 145 pounds).
Hannah and Sam together are approximately 145 pounds of kid. No WAY I could carry the two of them around all day every day!
I have a dear friend whose oldest daughter, Rachel, just got married. Rachel is the oldest of 9 children, and she lived under her daddy's roof until the day he gave her away to her husband.
Beautiful!
Her momma has to be so proud of her little girl for a million reasons...but right now, momma is hurting...because she has sent Rachel off to North Carolina from Minnesota.
Ouch.
With eight kids in the house who still make noise and make messes and require Mom's attention, it would seem that having just one go missing would barely make a ripple...but you don't watch a whole person vanish without feeling it.
Can you kind of see where I'm going here? Almost...but not quite?
I have lost people to death, but losing 145 pounds doesn't really feel like that at all. It's not like part of me has died...except, perhaps the fat person's wardrobe limitations. And good riddance to that!
I guess I have a pretty good handle on who I thought I would lose. Now...I don't mean to toot my own horn, but the Lord has chosen to give me some fun gifts to use for His purposes: I can read the minds of most children in the 2-7 year old age bracket. I know my way around the piano fairly reliably without a road map. I feel like a fish in water when I'm talking about the Word with my youth groupies or the women in my Bible study. I can type really, really fast...with a respectable level of accuracy. I can read really, really fast...with a respectable level of comprehension. I have the power to create a taco soup that will make you forget your own name! But when that extra 145-pound person was still around, I felt like--even if people saw any of these good things--they were mostly hidden by my appearance. I wasn't an honest advertisement for who I felt like I really was...and I felt like I was a really lousy witness for Christ. I'm not being shallow...I'm just calling 'em as I've seen 'em for way too many years.
So here's what I've finally, prayerfully realized: Losing the equivalent of a whole person has been like having that guy sitting in front of you at the theater get up and change seats. You know that guy...he's always just a little taller than you and just a little wider than you, and his big head is precisely between your eyes and center-stage.
Yeah...kinda like that.
When he gets up and moves, something changes. You're still sitting in the same seat in the same theater, with the same friends...but suddenly you can see all sorts of things you couldn't see before!
That is what I've been experiencing.
God has, for decades, been working on me with myriad sin and lifestyle issues while simultaneously, unfailingly, unceasingly calling me out on my sinful relationship with food. I've said before that I am a perpetual work in progress...and I've actually learned to embrace that loving discipleship from my Father. He just wants to see me looking more and more like His Son!
And...as it has happened so many times before, just when I move to follow Him in obedience in one area, He opens my eyes to other places we need to go together. But in this case, He got about 145 pounds' worth of disobedience out of my way...and that frees up a lot of room to work! And, boy...has He been using that space to show me some things that need my attention!
So how do you lose a whole person? In this case, it happens after coming to the prayerful conclusion that if I had an addiction to drugs, I would go to rehab...or if I had a problem with pornography, I would get rid of my internet and find a good Christian counselor. Getting past the shame of needing to seek help is what ultimately led me to a life free from a bondage I have struggled against for most of my life!
And who, exactly, did I lose? Just one more stumbling block (albeit a big one!) between where I started from and where I long to be--conformed to the image of Christ!
Blessings! Missy
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, Who have been called according to His purpose.
For those God foreknew He also predestined To be conformed to the image of His Son, That He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
And those He predestined, He also called; Those He called, He also justified; Those He justified, He also glorified.
Romans 8:28-30
P.S. For the record...I'm more than happy to talk to anyone who has questions about bariatric surgery or any of the other items on my blog-o-graphical resume. Contact away!
This was a little better than part one but still..............
Thank you for sharing! I was wondering about part two! Interesting characterization of the guy that sits in front of you at the movies. Glad to read this.
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