Vulnerable

"Nothing is impossible. The word itself says 'I'm possible.'" - Audrey Hepburn

I encourage my middle school girls to be vulnerable. I encourage them to share what is on their hearts. I encourage them to share their lives with me. I am looking for honesty - and try to set up an environment where honesty is welcomed. I try and make the girls feel comfortable. I let them know I love them. I give them an opportunity to feel heard. I encourage the girls in the group to do the same. What is said in the group stays in the group. And I share with them my life. I let them know things I have struggled with, and how God has used those things for good. I share with them the encouragement I have found only through Christ, the peace I have found only through Christ, and the hope I have found only through Christ. But for some reason, I have had the hardest time fulfilling a promise I made to my health coach a couple weeks ago. I told her that once I reached the 75 pound mark, I would share about this journey I'm on. Honestly, I dreaded reaching that 75 pounds. I dreaded being so vulnerable, honest and open. So, when I checked this morning for my "celebration day," I got nervous. I celebrated reaching 77 pounds, and realized it was time to pop the comfort bubble and share my victory. I made the decision 7 months ago to begin my journey to optimal health. Heather reached out to me a few months before, but I wasn't ready to do it. Finally, I realized I do so much for other people, that I was going to finally do something for myself. So, in August, I hopped on the train and joined Take Shape For Life. It hasn't been easy every day - there are times I am tempted - there are times that I don't follow the program exactly - but I am proud of how far I have come. This journey I'm on is not only changing my body, but it has given me a motivation to help others change. I eventually want to be a health coach so I can walk this journey with other people. I was talking to my aunt one day about it and compared sharing the program to our Christian walk. We share our successes, our motivation and our love for the program the same way we share about Jesus. You can tell people they need to accept Him so they don't go to hell, but what is going to impact their lives more is by sharing what Jesus means to us and how He has changed our lives. I sell Jesus because I don't want anyone to miss out on eternal life found through Him. My motivation for becoming a coach one day is that I don't want anyone to miss out on an opportunity to gain optimal health through TSFL. Both require an internal and very personal decision that no one can make for anyone else. Once upon a time, one of my longest friends got married. That was in September. About two months into the program. The week before the wedding, I SCRAMBLED to find someone to take in my dress. It just didn't fit. But, she got it to work, and I only had to tape so it didn't fall completely off while we danced. I got that dress out today. It would no longer be able to be taped to not fall off during dancing. Just a few pictures of my journey. Seriously, thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me on this journey. I am so blessed! As we take our middle schoolers to our winter retreat this weekend, I will have a new appreciation for what I ask of them - and I pray I will be able to give them the same.