Celebrate Victories

You know how we're always so "real" with you here?  Well, I confess that I kinda almost hate anyone who ever says working out, losing weight, or being healthy is easy.  Working out is NOT natural for me, ever, at all.  I like how I feel after I do it, but I hate doing it.  I hate sweating.  I hate wearing work out clothes.  It's NOT natural for me.  It's hard, and I have to work at it.  Once upon a time I was motivated and on a roll with these sort of things.  I had lost 43 lbs; I was working out almost every day, but then life and grief happened, and I gained all but 10 of those pounds back and didn't really try for over a year.  I recently started back on this journey.  I decided to start Weight Watchers again, which I was really successful with before.  The first day when I had to get on that scale and realized all of the previous work I'd done was practically gone, my heart sunk!  But then, I quickly remembered that it didn't matter.  What did matter was that I made a choice to start back, tracked all of my points for an entire week, and started working out again.  Victories!

Let's celebrate victories, ladies!  Every small victory that isn't small at all.  Taking the effort to work out when you haven't been doing so at all is a victory.  One pound lost is a victory.  Looking in the mirror and loving who you see before you, VICTORY!  Not believing the lies that Satan (it's him, it's really him) tells you about yourself, VICTORY!  Getting up early to spend time with Jesus when before you "never had enough time," VICTORY!  Asking for forgiveness, forgiving yourself, accepting grace that none of us deserve but get instead of living in self-condemnation, VICTORY!  Choosing to grieve losses in a healthy way instead of avoidance and letting yourself get numb, victory - big, huge, not small at all, VICTORY!

So all that rambling to say, CELEBRATE VICTORIES!  Silly ones like waking up early.  Making good life choice ones like choosing the salad instead of the pizza, losing one pound, or working out more than you did last week.  Spiritual freedom ones like spending time with Jesus, conquering a sin with His help, or learning to love yourself and not be self-condemning.  And serious, big deal, healing ones, like remembering the loved ones you've lost, facing grief instead of numbing it, and figuring out what helps you heal and grieve in healthy ways.

Romans 12: 15-16a says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another." So let's celebrate victories friends! Our own.  Each other's.  Let's agree to this okay?  It's a simple, good thing to do.

Let's make our own rules,
Kasia

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