Or makeover...
“If you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done.””
- Unknown
The problem with big mistakes is the feeling of regret and memory. We hold onto the things we did wrong and lament on opportunities missed, relationships we can’t seem to fix. And we desire a “redo”. While we can’t take back our choices and actions, while we can’t turn back time, we can learn from those mistakes. We can makeover who we will become moving forward.
Makeovers are one of the biggest plots used in romantic comedies. One of my favorite is Clueless. Cher makes over her friend, but later in the movie, she sees the bigger makeover she herself needed was in her heart. She begins dedicating herself to being a better person. People love makeover stories because we all have that one (and in some cases many) parts of ourselves we would like to change.
I have struggled with my weight most of my life. I actually started doing something good about it and had lost 40 pounds. And then my dad suddenly died. I wanted so badly to not let that be a hurdle to continuing my weight loss journey, but it was. So much happened afterwards. I moved to Nashville less than a year later, feeling called to do so. I didn’t have a job when I came up here and when I did find one, it was being a sales associate at a clothing store. And while I was grateful for the work and the paycheck, it was a constant struggle for both my weight and my finances. I really began to question if I was supposed to be here. If I had misunderstood what He told me. But my bills were paid every month (even though it was mathematically impossible at times). But, at the end of a year being in Nashville, my finances couldn’t take it anymore. I was going to have to make a decision. I prayed about it and asked God to give me guidance. I had to get a full time job that paid more by the end of that July.
I started my new job July 27th.
Now I have been there for two years. I love the people I work with and I love making a difference for someone. But during all that time, I was stress eating and not exercising. And after getting the new job, I travelled more which meant not having good meals every day. I had gained back all the weight I had lost. It has now been almost 4 years and now I am trying to turn it back around again.
But this is my redo. My makeover for a better life. It requires hard work and persistence. It also means being patient when things go slower than you want. Change is so gradual. It is painstaking. Most of the time we only see the outcomes of what someone accomplished and think change was “easy” for them. But we weren’t there during the process. We didn’t see the late nights, the tears, the heartbreak, the back-breaking work a person put in to make those changes.
Satan would have you believe if it isn’t easy, if it doesn’t happen immediately, then it never will. Just give up. Don’t keep trying is what he whispers in your ear.
But your makeover, your change is around the corner. The harder it becomes to keep at it, the closer you most likely are. So listen to the words of encouragement and hope that you hear. Keep doing. Don’t give up.
In Hebrews 12, it says, “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
"Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
- Isaiah 40:30-31
Keep going. And if you feel weary, if you stumble, call to God. He is there and He knows what waits around the corner for you.
“I know you have a little life in you yet. I know you have a lot of strength left.”
- Kate Bush, “This Woman’s Work”
Questions and Challenges:
- What is something you would like to redo or have makeover?
- Write out the steps you think it would take to move forward from where you are. Where do you want to be? What would you need to accomplish? What or who would you have to forgive?
- Pray for God's guidance in taking those next steps.
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