Friday, January 29, 2010

Shortcuts

Day 21

Today I learned that it really is pointless to take shortcuts. As I was leaving the grocery store I was so frustrated by my lateness that I decided to avoid the mile long turn line and went the other direction. That one decision catapulted me into a series of frustrating events even more frustrating than my lateness was in the first place. Oh-and and my little detour cost me 30 more minutes of my evening because of unforeseen construction. So this got me thinking about other short cuts I've tried to pull off in my lifetime-and how horribly they've backfired. Even more-I was reminded of how worth it is sometimes to avoid the path of least resistance...
  • Weight loss-one of the most upsetting topics by almost every woman I've ever met. I'm sure most of you know, and if you don't-well, you do now... I battled an eating disorder for almost 15 years. I was hospitalized for several months in Denver for Anorexia weighing 76 pounds and 5 years later jumped up to 230 pounds (my gosh, I can't believe I'm even talking about this). I was just never right with food, my body, my health and always desperately searching for a quick ticket out of this stupid maze I was lost in. I remember being awakened in the middle of the night several years back by extreme pain in my chest. I just lay there with my hand over my aching, weakened heart silently begging it to give me another chance. Suddenly my world, and the darkness I had been living in was floodlit and I soberly understood that my decision to survive needed to be immediate and irreversible. With much help and support from my loved ones and doctors I began to take my time to say goodbye to every pound permanently. I had to work my butt off! This time I couldn't take a shortcut. Every pound that dropped was accompanied by the proverbial and literal blood, sweat, and tears. It took me 3 years to lose over 100 pounds but I have kept it off for just as long (excluding the ups and downs of 2 pregnancies) and I'm convinced it's because I took my sweet time. Do I ever have relapses? You bet. There are more days than I'd like to admit that I skip eating all together. But thankfully God gave me a heart that warns me, and two beautiful children that snap me right back out of my own stupidity.
  • Another thing worth waiting for was the relationship with my husband. I had to wait a long time for Trenton. Before we were married we had known each other for 7 years and the timing just kept failing us. Before Trenton, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to offer the amount of love necessary to keep a relationship afloat. In my short lifetime I had my heart broken several times-once by someone that still doesn't even know I had feelings for him (tragic)! Anyway-our relationship turned out to be the poster child for patience...for not taking shortcuts. We waited 6 years to kiss, a year to become engaged, and 10 more months to be married. Have we been rewarded for our fortitude? More than either of us could have imagined.
  • It only seems natural to mention this next. The process of creating a child is one of those shortcuts that is impossible to take. I happen to be one of the most annoying driven-by-instant-gratification type of people. I can't even wait to get outside of the grocery store before I'm ripping open my pack of gum. Pregnancy is one of those fascinating processes that it not easy to describe, even when you've been through it...especially if you've been through it. And of all the beautiful and magical aspects of the whole development-I would have to say that my most memorable part was how freaking long it took to grow that baby! That being said, when those babes are rested on your stomach for the first time- you realize the importance of all the discomfort and pain you just endured for 9 months. You understand that there is no shortcut on this earth, or any other planet, that you'd be willing to take the place of what you've just experienced.
  • You know what else is worth it? Homemade cream sauces, and candy, and pasta. Sure-we can, and usually do take the shortcut and just use what's in the pantry. But you have to admit the beauty of taking raw materials and using them to create something beyond incredible.

Janet

2 comments:

  1. Janet- I have to say, I absolutely love this blog! LOVE IT!! It helps me more than you know. Love you!

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  2. Thanks so much Becky! I'm actually really enjoying writing it:) I thought it would be a pain but it's turning out to something I look forward to at the end of the day. Thanks for reading! Hope you're feeling well.
    Love,
    Janet

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