So now what? Easter has come and gone, my Biggest Loser contest has ended. Did either of them making a lasting difference?
How about you? Where are you on New Year's resolutions, fitness plans, financial goals?
It's so much easier to start than to finish, isn't it?
All gung-ho, committed, ready for a change, a new you...
Sometimes it is exciting, the same way buying a new car brings a thrill.
Here's some hard truth...a car is only new for a couple months. Even if you keep it clean and are diligent about maintenance, it doesn't stay "new." And , of course, there are payments. What started as something fun and exciting is now a means of transportation and monthly expense. Doesn't mean you don't like it, just that it may not always be a "thrill."
Life is so like that. We get easily caught up in "new" and "shiny" and "cool". Fool's gold.
Instead of fixing old things, we prefer to get new things.
A new spiritual peak, but no change in heart attitude.
A new piece of exercise equipment, but no change in food choices or how much we use the new machine.
A new car, new clothes/purse/shoes, new techno-gadget, new friends...all of which stop being new and stop satisfying our desires.
And, at some point, the truth in these words (from Emily Saliers) hits us hard:
All the shiny little trinkets of temptation
Something new instead of something old
All you've gotta do is scratch beneath the surface
And it's fool's gold...
Which brings me back to the original question...now what? The emotions of a High Holy Week are over, the challenge of winning a weight loss contest is done...do I have take-aways that will improve my life for good? Will I be committed to the hard work of improving ME? Or will I take the easy road, look outside of myself, divert my attention with new, shiny stuff that will ultimately lead me to a place of looking in the mirror at the same old me?
Throwing out old things and getting new ones is easy.
Thinking my life will be better with new people, a new fad diet, a new popular spiritual approach, is easy.
Hurtful and ineffective, but still easy.
I don't want fool's gold.
I want the old me with a renewed relationship with Christ. I want the old me with a new BMI and new fitness habits. I want the old me with a new appreciation for the family and friends I have loved for years - because I have changed, not because they have changed to suit me.
I want a Spring filled with renewal and growth in MY heart that is so vibrant it makes life better for everyone in my path.
How about you?
