It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
   taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
   it was I who healed them.
I led them with cords of human kindness,
   with ties of love;
I lifted the yoke from their neck
   and bent down to feed them.
– Hosea 11: 3,4

Photo Provided by iStockPhoto.com

 So many of the women I have the pleasure of connecting with via the Thin Within ministry desperately want to do this “thing” perfectly.  They want to be victorious over disordered eating and to be totally, 100% healthy physically, emotionally, and spiritually–NOW. In fact, so many of us, when we struggle for a day, a week, or longer (or less!) want to throw in the towel because we “just can’t seem to do it.”

Life is a marathon…not a sprint. Even babysteps in the right direction bring us to the finish line. Transformation taken one tiny step at a time is transformation nevertheless.

In 2002, I had the pleasure of participating in the creation of some of the Thin Within program material videos. If you look at those videos, it is evident that I was no where *near* a healthy weight, but God was at work within me at the time, laying groundwork for what was yet ahead. It wasn’t until the end of 2006, in fact, when things began to click in a way that caused weight to come off of my body. In fact, my very first exposure to Thin Within occurred seven years before it became obvious physically.

What should I say about the years between 2002 and 2006? Or between 1999 and 2006? Were they a waste of time? Absolutely not! God was at work during that time–even when I stubbornly walked away from my partners in the ministry for a season. Even then, God was still at work, convincing me that I needed to return to this path, that I had been “ruined”  for any other approach to lasting weight loss and for sanctification of my thinking relative to food, eating, and body image.

So, where are you in this process? Is God at work within you, laying a foundation upon which he will build for the rest of your life? Is He teaching you to walk one babystep at a time? Please don’t minimize the fact that He IS DOING a new thing–even now! He is walking with you, holding you through the babysteps of transformation…one tiny step forward at a time. He is teaching you how to walk. Though “progress” may seem indiscernible now, it is, nevertheless, happening. You are being transformed. He will not waste one moment.

Believe him. He IS DOING it. Right now. Moving you forward toward your godly finish line.