Shedding Weight

Detail from Northern Grace

I'm a walker by preference, ability, and need. My bone density has been a health issue for me for decades. I've written about my walking "program" before, but I've entered a new phase today: I got rid of my weighted vest.

When I saw the medical folks a couple of years ago, both the doctor and the therapist told me to quit wearing my weighted vest, that it was aggravating my spinal issues. I compromised by lowering the amount of weight I carried from 18 pounds to 12 pounds. And now even that amount is causing me problems...

                                                         so I'm ditching the weighted vest.

Believe it or not, I'm truly not writing today about my health complaints! I am writing about getting rid of things. Things we love. Things we "need." Things we have considered essential. And not even just things! How about getting rid of habits we love? Or behaviors we have considered essential?

We are getting rid of a lot of "stuff" lately, in preparation for God's call to pastor a church. No, we still don't have The Call, but we continue to trust Him and prepare for a call. And I've come up with a variation on a conflict resolution strategy to decide if something is worth keeping: Will I miss it in a day? A month? A year? That's worked pretty well when I'm dithering about keeping something or passing something along.

Then this question came to mind: Will I miss it in eternity? Truly, that's the essential stuff. Because it's all about God. Our purpose before Him is to worship Him, to bring Him glory. So all the rest is extra!

Lightening the load is good for the soul, I've discovered. Thinking about what is important, what can be parted with, is good preparation for living... no, it IS good living. I'm loosening my grip on stuff and even on expectations (like maintaining my bone density for the rest of my life). And I'm finding myself growing closer to what's truly vital: Loving God and loving people.