Pain of Change

So, last night was an interesting night. Nothing I hadn't experienced before, but it was interesting.  I've been working out again, managing my nutrition like a hawk (thanks to the ever-watching eyes of Tim) and overall feeling pretty good. Enough about that, though...maybe another post for another time. Anywho, last night we had a great group of WSC soccer players and life group friends here for supper. I had planned all day to be able to indulge in some potluck goodness and did great...until dessert. I had a cookie bar or two, a piece of fruit pizza, another cookie and yet another piece of fruit pizza.

And then I felt terrible.

Not guilt. No, there's nothing wrong with cookies, etc. if eaten in moderation (this probably wasn't great moderation, though, haha).  I know that, I just don't always know when to stop so I have been trying to avoid them altogether. The problem was with my stomach!  Who knew that, after weeks of training myself to live without incredibly sugary, carb-loaded fat, my belly would revolt at the intake of a few cookies? Ugh. The pain. The torture.  The lesson (followed by a big dose of Pepto)--stay away from the cookies!

As Christians, we strive to live without sin. We're not perfect.  Ever. But we can strive for it. And when we give in to a temptation that has previously caused us to sin, even just once!, it can lead to a tumultuous battle to overcome it once again. Our souls hurt, guilt ensues, and then God swoops in. When we ask forgiveness, we still battle those cravings, the temptations. But battling doesn't happen alone--He's there and once again, our body can forget how good "being bad" feels.

Just a little rambling but something I had to relearn last night. :)

Weeds

It's been awhile. Whoops. What did my last post (over 20 months ago) end with? "That's what happens when 'life happens'"? Well, that's what happened, I guess. :)

I've been meaning to start writing again--not all the time, just occasionally. Today, something occurred to me while pulling weeds. Yes, weeds.

Contrary to what my parents probably would remember, I like to pull weeds, especially the day of a good rain. The soil is wet & gives way to the root more easily than when it's parched. If you're lucky and pull just the right way, you can get that root out intact--leaving no part of the weed remaining. Little gives me more satisfaction when pulling weeds than to get an entire weed out--root and all. If it means taking a chunk of soil with it, so be it.

Getting rid of sin is like that, too. If our hearts aren't well-watered, we have a tough time getting to the root of the sin. Hearts closed off to the Word of God and Jesus' gentle, healing hands make eliminating sin impossible. When we spent regular time with the Lord, though, asking His help to rid our lives of sin, He primes our hearts with the Water of life and sin can be more easily battled. I wonder if God enjoys the root of sin being pulled out of our lives intact as much as I do.

I'm guessing so...it makes room for the flowers to grow. :)