This past week I posed a question to all of my friends and family on Facebook - do we get keep or get rid of all the clothes that no longer fit us? I was prepared for answers on either side of the issue. Obviously, I was wrong. God made it perfectly clear to JT and me what we needed to do.
My friend Allison E. reminded me of a post I wrote (not too long ago) about "no plan B." I have to admit that I am FEARFUL of going back. I'm scared that I will slip and fail and just coast all the way back to over 200 pounds. I cannot believe I just typed that. That's fear right there staring back at me. Do I go back and erase that and put "my former weight" as if no one will know? Do I reveal my sin to that degree..yes. Actually, I weighed 208 pounds on November 1, 2011. I want to erase this so badly, but I cannot. I must lay it all on the line. There is no plan B. Thank you Allison for this reminder.
Several people including Jeannette, Cheryl, Jennifer, and Jacquelyn encouraged me to donate my clothes so that others can use them. What am I thinking...why would I hold on to clothes that clearly do not fit? They don't even come close. JT has some pants that will NOT stay up without a belt, shirts that swallow him whole and shorts that look ridiculous now. How would we be honoring God with our stewardship if we kept clothes that others could use? We cannot. We must honor the Lord in our possessions, and this is part of that process!
My brother David sent me the following quote: "Once the warriors had been offloaded from their boats onto their enemy's shore, the Greek commanders would shout out their first order, "burn the boats!" The sight of burning boats removed any notion of retreat from their hearts and any thoughts of surrender from their heads. Imagine the tremendous psychological impact on the soldiers as they watched their boats being set to the torch. As the boats turned to ash and slipped quietly out of sight into the water, each man understood there was no turning back and the only way home was through victory." (Note...this quote is on several websites so I'm not sure who to give credit for it. It was not from me, obviously. It belongs to someone else. I am just not sure who...). What a great visual to see how committed the warriors were to their aim. We are in this battle for the long haul, and we are going to fight every step of the way. Burning the boats...giving away the clothes.
My favorite comment came from my friend, Dave Walkup, from Georgia. He and his precious bride, Nellie, are friends of ours who have walked this same journey. They speak from experience. He mentioned 1 Kings 19:19-21 when Elisha was plowing in the field with his oxen. Elijah finds him there and calls him to follow. Elisha returns to the field, sacrifices the oxen and gives the meat to the people to eat. I'm not going to stretch my situation to fit this Scripture by ANY means. It IS a good reminder to me that I must not look back. God has called us to honor Him with our bodies, and we must continue on this road until He calls us HOME! So, we press on for His calling.
We have officially cleaned out the closet. We gave away everything that was too big for us. As you can see from the picture above, that was quite a bit. No more 3X shirts for JT or size 42 pants. And no more XL shirts for me. It was a cleansing feelings. Honestly it reminded me of a story my friend Amiee R. told me...she skyped with her son in Uganda for a while before seeing him face to face. Every time she would see him in the same sweater. She fully expected her son to be wearing that sweater when she saw him at the airport. But, he was not. That sweater was probably at his grandmother's house. Did she need that sweater? No..she just wanted it for the memories it held. Now she knows that when she travels back to Uganda, she's likely to see another little boy wearing that sweater...for the glory of God alone. It is a reminder of her son's past and where he has come from. We can remember the past without living in it. Amen, my sweet friend. I needed to hear that. I'm moving on....
We will NOT go back. We will press on for His great name and His glory.
Sheryl Turner 1Way Ministries
1 comment:
That's awesome, good for you!
Nikki
www.madebynikki.blogspot.com - get your blog designed and support global education
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