Letting go and letting God

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps. (Proverbs 16:9)


The author begins chapter three talking about admiring a flower garden, and realizing that there is no way to have a flower garden without putting the hard work into planting, tending, and growing the flowers. She talks about how that applies to so many things in life - we want the results without having to commit to the work. We cannot "wish fat away".


This journey is going to require a plan. I love plans! I love making lists! I love feeling like I have some sort of control over what is going to happen - how things will play out. I can plan until the cows come home! Having a plan always feels empowering to me.


Where I often fall short is in following the plans. Completing the lists. It's very easy to make excuses when I am the only one I am accountable to with my plans. 


The author talks about her changing body revealing all her eating secrets - poor choices in food would rat her out every time. 


The concept of "eating secrets" hits very close to home. I have eaten countless meals after my children went to bed, or left for school, so that I can eat alone. I have told myself that it is just so I can enjoy my food without the interruptions, or the stress that trying to eat with 3 children can bring. And many times, this really is my motivation. But there have also been plenty of times that I have done this so I wouldn't have to answer to anyone about what I was eating - or share it with them. Again, part of my motivation is good here - I want my children to have good eating habits, and I don't want them to learn by watching my bad ones. 


Obviously though, my body gives that little secret away. And as my kids get older, they will realize that I am not practicing what I preach.


So I need to develop a plan. And not only do I need to develop this plan, but I need to stick to it. And that is part of my motivation for writing this blog. Accountability and support. The thought of making a plan is empowering to me - when I see it all written out, it seems easy to follow. And I also love a challenge - so that helps me as well. 


So basically, the only thing stopping me from succeeding here is me... And that is where I need to alter plans I have tried before. I need to add prayer to my plan - as I wrote about previously. So for now, my plan has been to eat lean meats, plenty of veggies and fruit, some carbs - but preferably whole grains and not too many, and high protein snacks between meals to help keep me from feeling too hungry.  And a very big part of my plan right now is to avoid even tasting the things that are the most tempting to me, i.e. nacho cheese Doritos.  Because I know that once I start, it is very hard to stop, and it only leads to me craving more! 


And so far, I have discovered that after almost 40 years of turning up my nose to it, I actually like celery! And with the right spices and flavors, almonds make a very tasty snack. And if I bring a healthy snack to church with me, I can choose to ignore the cinnamon rolls and coffee cake that the other people around me are eating, because I am chewing on something that I know will be beneficial. And another thing that I am learning, and am actually really looking forward to, is that I can still love food - because there is a world full of flavors out there for me to discover - and flavor doesn't have to mean fat! I'm excited to experiment with spices and herbs and vegetables in my own kitchen to see what new, healthy, and most importantly DELICIOUS recipes I can come up with!


And in those moments, which I'm sure will come all too often at first, when I am weak and I want to reach for the quick, unhealthy snacks - my plan is to pray. And let God do the rest.


God bless you!