This looks bad, but I was serving ice cream to the whole family.
After having carried and given birth to 10 children, I had put on a few extra pounds. A few pounds is being generous with myself. I saw 10, 20, 30 and how about 50 extra! But somehow I justified it in my mind. I just tried to not think about it that much. I had 10 children and I was nursing, so there really wasn’t anything I could do about it.
Sometimes we find ourselves in a place in life that we really don’t want to be. It takes a “crisis moment” to reveal the truth and help snap us back into healthy thinking and living.
This was my crisis moment. It was a Saturday and I was sleeping in while Chris was managing the house. He was cooking up a great big breakfast: eggs, pancakes, hash-browns and bacon. I went from bed right to the table and was enjoying the wonderful syrup that was poured over most of my plate.
Then I saw something outside. My brother Tod was walking up my walkway. What?! Tod lives in Wisconsin, and as far as I knew he had never to been to Colorado. What a nice surprise! I jumped up and threw open the door and we wrapped our arms around each other. He gave me a bear hug, you know the kind where your back cracks like a knuckle.
There were all the questions and then he sat down and joined right in with my family. We visited and talked most of the day. The Lord really had set up the day as we just happened to not have any major plans for that Saturday. We took pictures and we cooked and just had fun.
Tod left after supper and life revved up to the normal pace. About a month later we got all those pictures developed and it was my crisis moment. When I sat down to look at those photos of my brother and I, I was pretty unhappy with who I had become. I really had become someone I did not want to be. My legs were bulging and my face was heavy. This made me sad and embarrassed.
I decided right there that I was going to do something about my physical health. I decided that whatever it would take I would do it. It all started for me with this crisis moment.
Maybe you’re thinking this was not a very big crisis. For me, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Perhaps you have been told that you must lose some weight and start exercising because your health is as risk. Whatever the reason is, we all have to start at square one and go from there.
Having that “crisis moment” is the first step in the right direction. I lay out in my book Love in a Diet just how I lost 50 pounds and kept it off, even while having 6 more children. You can lose weight and keep it off too.
Have you ever had a “crisis moment” in your life that has made you rethink your current physical health? If so I would love to hear from you.
About Wendy Jeub