“If you faced any challenges in this last month, raise your hand!”

Several months ago I wrote a blog about this. Over the last month or so, I found I needed to revisit it as a reminder to myself! I can imagine that a lot of us who read this can relate to challenges that happen from time to time.  Maybe you face challenges every day! So, I think it is worth looking at this subject again.

Body Challenges

One BIG challenge I am facing every day is with my body. I am currently going through menopause (or have hit menopause….) and my body is doing some strange (and unexpected) things!  One thing in particular that I really don’t like is my body just doesn’t want to release weight but instead would rather shift it to different areas of my body! Add to that hot flashes, occasional dizziness and appetite spikes and cravings.

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Other Challenges

Another challenge has been many different and big life changes going on with my family.  My son just graduated from college, my husband just resigned from his ministry position at our church (he was bi-vocational) and I just went full-time at my job. (which will not make up the difference financially….but that’s another story of faith!)

.Add to that my family coming to town for my son’s graduation (I wrote about that in an earlier blog).

Then for his graduation trip, we went  to Disney World for a week! Yes, it was fun, but can we say FOOD, FOOD, FOOD???

I found it has been difficult to stay focused and eat mindfully with all the challenges going on.

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All of us can relate to the struggles of life.

• You might have three little ones running around and pulling at you from every direction.
• You might be one of those people that have to carpool all over the place and that is your life.
• You might be someone who has a sickness in your family or you are a caregiver for your aging parent.
• You can fill in the blank.

We all know that life can be stressful and unpredictable.

 

How in the world do we stay focused?

How in the world do we not just jump right back into a pan of brownies and swim around while throwing it all in our mouths? How do we keep from going back to food for comfort and sanity?

Although, I don’t have the answers to all of these questions, I can tell you what I do.

 

I just keep practicing.

• I practice saying “no” when deep in my heart I already know that I don’t need the food.
• I practice eating 0 to 5.
• I practice the different keys to conscious eating that help me stay in my boundaries.

I can only do this in HIS strength, which means I also practice some other important things!

 

I surrender things to the Lord

Sometimes I am giving the Lord the same thing over and over because I’m going through a hard time. That’s what I have to do. I surrender it up to the Lord and I lay it down at his feet.

 

I take time to spend with the Lord.

Even if it’s just a sentence prayer in the shower or praying while I’m washing the dishes. It may even be just singing a simple praise song over and over again. It may be renewing my mind with His word or listening to worship music.

 

I know that if I seek Him, keep renewing my mind with His truth and try to follow Him as best I can then I will remember:

HE IS BY MY SIDE. ALWAYS. NO MATTER WHAT.

He will meet me where I am and give me the strength to carry on.

 

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I DO NOT practice BEATING MYSELF UP!

I don’t practice beating myself up when I mess up. I have to stop and I have to just take a moment to say,

“Lord I knew that that extra piece of pie was not going to make me feel better. I thank you that after I took one bite, I realized it and I knew I wasn’t hungry and so I stopped.”

I don’t beat myself up about the one bite. I celebrate the fact that I only took one and I walked away.

Maybe for you it’s that you ate the whole piece of pie (or whatever). BUT you don’t have to beat yourself up for the one piece. Celebrate the fact that you didn’t eat the whole pie! Try to look at the positive and cling to what God is doing in you!

 

I try to focus on the good things that God is doing. I try to thank HIM.

⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  -Philippians 4:6

This peace that he talks about may not be something that’s instantaneous in my soul but it is a peace that’s deep in my soul knowing that no matter what, He is still there with me.

Basically, it comes from building a relationship with the Lord. Relationships don’t come easy and they don’t come instantaneously. There’s a give and take in relationships. And it is the same with the Lord. I’m not going to be perfect. Only God is.  I can rely on His perfection to help me get through the rough times.

So, no matter what rough time you might be facing….how big or how little… remember to PRACTICE.

PRACTICE relying on Him, renewing your mind with His truth, surrendering to Him and allowing Him to love you through it all.