My gracious and loving wife has been married to me for 15 years this month. Before we got married, my wife and I dated for 3 years. I had an exciting thought this weekend: I don't know exactly what I weighed when Ruth and I started dating, but I know that I have weighed over 300 pounds since my freshman year in high school. That means that at some point in the not-too-distant future, I will weigh less than I ever have since we have been together. I have weighed over 300 pounds for more than 1/2 of my life to this point and it is thrilling to know that I will be under 300 pounds before too long. These thoughts are especially sobering to me when I think that 6 months ago I remember telling my friend Jon Long that I did not believe I could lose weight. I remember telling Jon that just after I had seen God do a miraculous work in my life.
In my professional life, I tell people how to manage debt. As a mortgage loan officer, I have encouraged my friends and clients to budget for well over 10 years now. The sad reality however is that while I counseled others on managing debt, my own debt was out of control. In June of last year, the Lord convicted me that I needed to change that. For the first time in my life, I charted all of my debt on a spreadsheet and it was breathtaking. When I charted my debt in 2010, aside from my home mortgage I had $87,900 in debt. I prayed and begged God to do a miraculous work in my life. I begged the Lord to enable me to pay off my debt in 6 months. Well, the Lord did not pay off our debt in 6 months, rather He paid off that $87,900 in debt in 6 month and 2 weeks, The second week of January 2011 all of that debt was paid in full!
Even after experiencing that amazing miracle, I remember thinking that debt was one thing, but my weight was an insurmountable goal. In fact, I remember telling Jon that it would be easier to tackle a million dollars in debt than tackle my weight issue. I sit here today a man who is humbled by God's grace and broken when I think of how much He loves me. It is sobering to me to think that because of my lack of faith, I have confined the work that Christ has been able to do through me. Friends, what things are you harboring that are limiting you from accomplishing all that you were meant to accomplish?
This week I am 3 pounds closer to being the man God intended me to be.
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