The other day, Carter said to me, "Mom! Your belly is getting big! I think there's a baby in it! I really do! ...Or is that just because of how you are sitting?" I laughed at first, then got a bit red in the face. I made a quick parenting moment of it to a) explain that it probably isn't a good idea to comment about the size of bellies and b) explain that I needed to make better choices in what I ate. But, twelve hours later, I was still thinking of that simple comment as I scrolled through different ways to drastically change our eating habits. While I still want to make these changes, I realized something else. I may not have focused on my waist line enough over the past few months, but I did focus on some other areas of my life that I deem to be more important than my muffin top.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 says, "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. 2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.3 A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4 A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance."
I have been through a bit of a rough patch over the past few months... from a couple of surgeries to losing my grandma unexpectedly in a matter of four months. Now, I am four months out of that chaotic period, and I feel renewed. During that time, I fully trusted in Jesus (though I was a little lack luster in my joy) and found out how amazing the body of Christ is when I had no choice but to accept help time and time again. I feel as though that time helped me understand the lyrics to the song "Sweetly Broken" by Jeremy Riddle:
At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I'm sweetly broken, wholly surrendered
This didn't happen overnight. I have realized that I've been happy, trusting, but needing joy for a couple of months now. The culmination of the journey was on a women's retreat I atttended with my church. Life is not always easy, but we can strive for joy even when grieving and hurting.
"16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
So in the midst of figuring out how to be a fit momma, I will also remember to strive for joy, pray ceaselessly, and be thankful.
