Wednesday Weigh-In: Rejoicing In the Effort

I actually cried when the upsetting event happened. Tears rolled down my face as I sent a text explaining why our friendship needed to cool off a little.

Unemotional eaters may not identify with this, but for those of us who use food to comfort, soothe, and bury our real feelings, crying in the midst of a problem instead of wallowing in ice cream is worth celebrating.

All too often, people like me use food as a diversion to what’s really going on inside ourselves.

My old mantra went something like this:

Angry at your spouse?

Let off some steam by sucking down at least a quart of ice cream and watch those uncomfortable feelings melt away.

Had a bad day at work?

Give yourself the break you deserve by scarfing down a Big Mac and super-size fries before heading home.

And the lies go on.

But somewhere in the last year or two, I realized how this type of behavior must offend the Lord.

How could it not?

After all, Christ wants to be our everything. He is the one who wants to comfort and soothe us and help us to cope with life’s challenges.

So I tried it.

In January of this year, I made a determination not to turn to food when I was upset.

It hasn’t been a perfect endeavor, but I’ve definitely progressed.

Reacting as I did this past weekend is proof of that.

My weekend snafu was due to letting months of frustration build up and ended up losing my temper and causing quite a breach in a relationship that I valued.

Anger consumed me.

I called my dad and spouted off and then called my husband and did the same.Then I realized as much as they both love me and wanted to help me, they didn’t have the power to fix anything.

The thought crossed my mind to head to the nearest Oberwiess, but I instead knelt down in prayer.

I wish I could tell you that God’s sweet presence enveloped me as I prayed, but it didn’t.

It is important to note though that I was still in the pouting stage with God. My prayer was very whiney and when He didn’t indulge me, I gave up.

That’s when I sent that fateful text.

So did I fail?

I don’t think so.

It was more like a toddler learning to walk.

In all honesty, it was my first genuine attempt at pouring out my frustration to God and asking him to soothe those raging emotions BEFORE turning to food. Normally, I would have called my dad and husband, ate a big bowl of ice cream, and then and only then tried to pray.

So my progress was in my improved priorities and effort.

And I am convinced that effort is what the Lord is most interested in.

Think about it. What parent in their right mind would expect a one-year-old to go from just barely learning to walk to riding a bicycle?

Is not our heavenly Father even more compassionate than the kindest parent?

“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:11)

So I ask you, what are you struggling with today? What efforts have you made? Don’t despair in your shortcomings, rejoice in your effort.

Together we can move forward.

One step at a time.

NOTE: John Maxwell has a great book on this topic called Failing Forward.