Grace

Well here it is the end of yet another week, spending some time reflecting before looking ahead at what's to come.  I am amazed at the journey the Lord has brought me on, full up ups and full of some downs.  When I first laced up my shoe and stepped onto the elliptical, I never would have thought that I would be where I am today.  There are some variables that change along the way, but the purpose remains the same.  There was one lesson in particular that I needed to learn this week, and what a difference I believe it will make in the long run as I continue to move forward:  Grace.

I started a new plan this week where I am limited to some foods and find myself counting carbs.  It had been a long day and my body was going through some withdrawals, so when I got home I knew I just needed to eat something and quickly.  I ate a pork chop and had one of those mini corn on the cobs.  The next day I was tallying up my totals and I went over my limit.  Was it because I ate that ice cream cone or had a side of fries?  No, it was because of some stinkin' midget corn.  I was mad, frustrated, and ready to throw in the sweat towel as feelings of failure covered me like a husk to the corn cob.  But then a sister reminded me, grace.  It's ok, we all make mistakes...it is how we learn the lessons of life.

We have all heard the saying before, "We are our own worst enemies."  Grace contradicts every perfectionist fiber within our beings, it challenges every prideful bone in our bodies, and it cries out for the inner champions of our souls.  Why?  Because winners are not perfectionists, but only losers who kept trying again and again because of grace.  It beckons us to stand up and say, I made a mistake...but to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  Ah yes, grace.  And what a difference a little grace makes as we dust the dirt from our knees and get back up again.

I have a new number:  163.  Yes, I only 163 pounds left to lose!  But perhaps more fun than that, is a verse the Lord gave me as I was thinking and praying about what to write today:  

 "As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight."  Psalm 16:3

When you reach new goals and lose that weight or set a personal best while running, I pray you sense the Lord's delight in you.  And when you fall down and scrape your knee and hang your head in disappointment, may He reassure you with His grace and be the lifter of your head, reminding you of His delight in you!  Oh what a blessing beyond words it is to experience the Father's delight in you, just you...