2015 – Top Left || 2016 – Bottom Left || 2017 – Right
It’s been about two years since I started the health journey and I wanted to let you into the journey of what I have learned this year.
Towards the end of 2015 I made the decision that it was time to go on this health journey. I had no idea that it was going to teach me so much more than lessons about the best workouts and healthiest foods. The beginning of 2016 started with walking a lot, and was able to end the year with my first 10K where I ran the whole thing. I had a great routine and knew exactly which healthy foods to get on my weekly trip to the grocery store. In 2016 I learned a lot about my worth and what it looked like to fight for myself, and the Lord was re-defining the meaning of beauty. The Lord doesn’t measure beauty by our jean sizes, but instead sees our beauty in the ways that we take care of ourselves (physically and emotionally). All at the same time I sometimes battled the pressures of society and balanced on the line of depending too much on my workout routine and grocery list.
By the end of 2016 I had hit my goal weight, and I was about to leave on to go on the field for 5 months. I would be lying if I said that it didn’t make me a bit anxious to let go of my routine. I was afraid of taking steps backwards in my health journey while being on the field where workouts would be a bit more scarce, and I wouldn’t have as much control of my diet. The staple foods you are served in most of the countries we went were rice and/or bread which were things that were mostly eliminated from my diet the year before. When I went running for the first time in Colombia, I fell flat on my face (see image below). Clothes were starting to feel a little tight. To me this started to feel like the backwards I was so worried about. At a couple points it would feel like the beauty I had just learned to walk more confidently in last year was melting away as some of the weight came back.
The thing is, the Lord doesn’t move backwards or even see the weight gain, but rather sees the beauty in us trusting Him with bold steps. Sometimes following Him looks like letting go of routines that we get comfortable with, and it’s so worth it. Living a full life will sometimes look like dropping our grocery lists and workout routines to walk out even greater things the Lord has for us. I can’t say that it was easy, and it was disappointing at times when pants got a bit tighter, but it was incredibly worth it to travel to these places and love His people. Although that season brought back a little weight, it was one of the most joyful 5 months I have been in, and that’s a beautiful thing.
This year I am thankful to be learning how to hold onto the beauty that the Lord sees instead of being tempted to base it off of what the scale says. Now being back in the states for a few months, I have been very thankful for fresh vegetables and a new gym membership. It’s been nice to be able to settle back into a routine and to create new goals for next year (like maybe my first half marathon!) But even when you are back in your routine at home, life can throw curve balls. Whether you are hit with a death in the family, moving, a new job, etc., life will always be shifting and sometimes throw off our routines. So my question is; what will it look like for us to always believe our worth and beauty while life continuously brings us changing seasons?
