I lost 40 pounds in 2016. I found 8 of them in 2020.
OK. 11 of them.
I made up my mind to lose weight 5 years ago (though in August, not January). My first day in a WW (formerly Weight Watchers) workshop I expected the coach to be kind. She was. I also expected her to sugar coat my start. She didn’t.
As I explored the WW app on my phone, I discovered the number one reason I was 40 pounds too heavy for my health. Sweet tea. I was drinking it almost literally by the gallon. A day.
Lisa, my WW leader, didn’t water it down.
“Decide what’s worth it,” she said.
So, I did. And I have a closet of 4-sizes-smaller clothes to show for it.
There are a lot of motivations this month that advertise “New Year! New You!” They encourage us to lose weight, save money, or set goals with the fantasy that those things will fix us.
I did lose weight but guess what? It didn’t create a new me, just a thinner me.
On the inside I’m still Julie Echols Reyburn.
I still have a lazy streak.
I still forget things.
I still like sweet tea.
I am, however, an improved me, irrelevant to the number on a scale or the size of my clothes. I’m better because I realized a confidence along my months-long weight loss journey that has helped me do hard things.
I can learn discipline.
I can create healthy habits.
I can inspire others.
Those strengths will help me shed the next 8 pounds.
OK. 11 pounds.
A quote circulating through social media suggests it is not enough to build a better me, that instead my energy should be used to imitate Jesus. Yes, the Bible instructs us “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)
It also says “we are fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) and “we are His workmanship.” (Ephesians 2:10.)
His workmanship.
His works of art.
His masterpieces.
God has uniquely equipped each one of us with gifts and talents. We should absolutely hone and refine those parts of us. Ephesians 2:10 affirms this saying we are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
God has a specific plan for each of us. When we pursue our best selves in service to Him and others, we fulfill His purpose. We also spur people around us towards their potential.
As you consider your dreams for 2021 find peace in this: the world doesn’t need a new you. It needs the best you. And you’re invited to become the person God created you to be on any day, not just the ones to start a new year.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
(Ephesians 2:10)
