My Journey to and through Grace and Strength

I've never been a jump on the band wagon type of person. However, when several close co-workers were finding such great success with Grace and Strength I had to take a look at what they were doing. When I first looked at this program I had the reaction of yes it was a "diet", no magic power here. Eat less, move more, and lose weight. Ok, been there done that, can't make that last. I need the magic power. I want to lose almost 70 pounds. I let this idea go for a few months.

In my normal morning prayers, I kept asking God to help me be focused, help me find the peace that I'm missing in my life. What I didn't realize was he was sending me the answer every day when I would see and visit with one of these co-workers. I just was not listening to God or to myself. I had stopped caring about me. I put all my energy into my family and my work. I didn't care anymore about me and my health. As long as everyone else was happy then I would be happy. Well you can guess how well that worked. Life was no longer fun; it was just life. I needed more than "just life." The key turning point was when our youngest daughter and I had a long talk and she said "mom, I miss you being happy, you're never happy. If doing this diet thing will make you happy, then do it, I will help you." I still waited, her love pushed me but I felt like I was looking for something more, something bigger than LOVE. That is when I hit me. If love was not enough what would be?

The next few days I spent a lot of time in prayer asking for God to please help me know this is the right thing to do. I felt selfish doing something to help me love myself again. It happened that a few days later I met with two of the coworkers who were involved in Grace and Strength and I asked again for more information. For the next week, I really looked into the program. I have always believed with hard work and determination I could lose the weight on my own. For the last 20 years, I have tried, but I could not find success. I was missing something. I would lose a few pounds but then gain more back. I had lost the joy, the energy, the humor I had when I was younger. It hurt to walk; I was out of breath with the easiest of walks. I could not keep up with our girls and all their activities. I was a high school and college athlete years ago and in good shape once, and now to realize I could not even climb rows of bleaches to watch our daughter's game without feeling out of breath or unsteady was depressing. Life was no longer fun it was just life. I needed more than "just life." I needed support. I realized that every time within my life when I've needed support, I have found it through my Christian beliefs, my friends, my family and Love of the Lord. That LOVE was right there waiting for me to realize it.

The Grace and Strength journey is not the same for each of us. For me I wanted to lose the weight but more important is what I wanted to find. I wanted to find the happiness again, the joy, the fun Christine, not the crabby almost 50-year-old Chris. Through this journey, I have found me again. It has been through discovering what makes me happy and how all of that happiness is through the Lord. Remembering to see the blessings in front of me, how God directs my steps through the choices I make and when I mess up all is not lost; it is just a lesson learned His Love is still there and still strong. I just need to pick up and move on. As I tell my student's, life is full of mistakes; that shows that you are trying. Keep trying. This journey was not without its mistakes, its lows, but it was also full of so many accomplishments that I thought I would never see again. I feel great. I am happy. I enjoy life and most important my family enjoys being around me again. I started this journey hoping to lose almost 70 pounds and I am proud to say I'm an overachiever. Yes, I lost over the 70 pounds but what I've rediscovered about myself means so much more.

A quote I look at often sums up this journey for me: every positive change in your life begins with a clear, unequivocal decision that you are going to either do something or stop doing something. I did both. Thank you Grace and Strength for all the support, guidance and love to make my goal and find the fun Christine again.

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* Individual results may vary.