Don't Despise the Process.
Say it with me. "Don't despise the process."
What does it mean, you ask?
It means, that God is ALWAYS at work. ALWAYS up to something bigger than what we can see.
I think about all the tears I have shed about my weight (especially my inability to lose it) over the years. How painful was THAT?! I think back to the 300 pound woman. How hard everything was. How sad it made me. How much my body hurt. My heart hurt.
I think back to all the weight loss attempts. The crazy diets. The extremes. The excessive working out.
I think back to all the talking about it. The praying about it. The swearing about it (that one was for you, Sara Rankin!).
It was so difficult.
But look what God has done!!! He had a bigger purpose. It was to bring Him glory. This is how He received the most glory--to cause me to walk through all of the other things and find no answers. To leave me without any option but to say, "Lord, I can't go anywhere else. Carry me where you want me to go!"
And He did carry me. And now I'm helping other people to follow a specific path for their lives as well. A path toward health for the glory of God!
How can I look back on all of those years and all of those failed attempts and all of that heartache and be anything but grateful? It was part of a process God used to get me here. I would be wrong to despise it.
We had another instance this week that was similar. God used a very difficult situation to get us where He wanted us with schooling for our children next year. It was another reminder to me that when I am faced with things that I would not desire, that I can trust God. He is at work for a much greater purpose than that moment. I can't despise the process. I have to trust God and His sovereignty in my life. Nothing happens to me apart from the divine hand of Love. That's a huge lesson to learn. And I'm thankful that God is teaching me this now.
This is so much greater than weight loss! I love that.
Here let me pick up that name you just dropped. ;)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I'll take the bad with the good any day with you.
p.s. (laughing)
Julie said I should post what I emailed her.
Delete"I feel like I need to do a companion post titled "Don't Mind Me: I'm Just Swearing - Reflections on That Night."
What a journey!! Every step brings you closer to your goal, but the stories along the way are so good! Love you!
ReplyDeleteJulie, I am SO bad at appreciating the process. I think it has been a constant in my life. I could blame it on "the system" because of its emphasis on product, not process. But the blame is on me. I only first realized it in college in clay class. Clay is SUCH a process. And now I realize it's a good thing I found that out before children, homeschooling, and the rest of life after government school. I still tend to put up my dukes when it comes to staring process in the face, but I'd bet I'm not as feisty as I used to be about it all. At least while I'm greatly disliking the process now, I can realize what's actually going on, and that disliking it doesn't actually help. :o) Thanks for sharing! I can now attack my bad attitude on process from another angle.
ReplyDelete