We had a weekend in which we were traveling quite a bit in the car. When that happens, I usually am a poor planner and we end up eating the dreaded fast food. Yes, I should know better, especially since I made a bold prediction of losing a boat load of weight. There is actually "good news" on that front. I had a couple of body compositions done using different formulas and my absolute lean body weight is 213 pounds. So, unless I amputate body parts, I will not be getting below 200 pounds anytime soon.
On Sunday morning, the exercise ritual began with a lot of aches and pains. The knots in my thighs were so huge and painful and referred pain into my hips. I set out on my bike ride after stretching and moving to get things loosened up a bit.
As I started on the bike, I thought to myself, "You know, the pain is your fault because of your food choices." I could not argue with myself. Everything I was feeling was certainly self inflicted. Self Inflicted NONsense..As I was pedaling, I shortened "self inflicted nonsense" to SIN.
What? SIN? And you know what? Sin is also self inflicted nonsense. Think about it for a second. No one forces us to sin. Take Adam and Eve for instance with the first sins against God. Adam TRIED to blame Eve but Adam was more than well aware of the instructions they had received from God. Adam did it to himself, or self inflicted the act. And, the act was for a nonsensical reason. Adam and Eve LIVED IN PARADISE. and they threw it all away for nothing.
The opportunity for us to sin WILL cross our path. There has not been a person yet who was not faced with sin. It can be a great big sin, or it can be a little, itsy bitsy sin. However, sin IS sin and it is not graded on size.
Now back to my muscle pain..I KNOW that my aches, pains and myofascial problems can be worsened with poor dietary choices. I know that eating with Kings and Clowns will only bring me down. Instead of planning and making a wise choice, I settled for the convenient choice and paid the consequences. I am talking about 20-30 minutes of hard labor with a foam roller and "The Stick" and take it from me, that is no fun.
Choices and consequences go a lot deeper than muscle pain. Kind David, like the rest of us, had a choice when it came to Bathsheeba. He could have walked away, but instead he really made a tangled mess of things. He certainly had consequences to his actions. If a person eats crap, then their legs will hurt and if a person commits a sin, then there will be a consequence and/or a punishment.
You know what is really bad? Chocolate tastes so sinfully good. It lures me in and I indulge only to feel the pain in the muscles and at the scales. Temptation is attractive. If sin was not attractive, we would never fall prey to it. Knowledge sounded good to Adam and Eve. It represented power. Temptation and sin will appeal to us on some level.
How do we deal with Self Inflicted Nonsense? First, we need to RECOGNIZE that it exists. The allure of cupcakes looms in my future and I must recognize that a cupcake will not kill me, but I can assure you that the foam roller will be needed. Next, I must UNDERSTAND my limitations. I know my weaknesses and need to know that I am vulnerable to those weaknesses. And finally, I need to firmly and emphatically say. "NO" because there is too much at stake. Oh, look, to deal with SIN (Self Inflicted Nonsense) a simple strategy is to RUN...sometimes as fast as one can.
On that note, I break in a new pair of running shoes in the morning..
Good evening.
ReplyDeleteGood to see that you do not need to lose all that you thought you did. I wish that were true with my situation, lol. But it is not.
On the fast food.. 2 times last week..for the first time in my life that I can remember..I had a situation where my daughter and I were on the go the entire day and it came to lunch time and we were faced with a fast food decision. We went, but I was very comfortable getting a yogurt until we could get home and I could fix a healthy meal. Several days before that in a similar situation I just ate a hamburger..sans bun. And I was ok with it. It kept me from feeling like I was starving, but didn't place me in a position where I threw myself off the path.
I never could do that before without feeling uncomfortable...like I was missing out on something. This time I was just of the mind that I needed to eat something to keep going through the day and that it did not require that I feed the pleasure center of my brain in the process.
I like the acronym.
I do so hate to run from anything that tempts me, though. When I have done that in the past, I have always found myself in a situation where I would eventually have to come face to face with the issue and would fail. I would rather gain the strength and ability to face the temptation and refuse it.
But....on my own strength, alone, I will fail as well.
And so I think that the only way to do that is with the right mind set and God's help.
The image comes to mind of Satan showing Christ all that could be his if he would bow, and Christ quoting scripture and refusing.
Temptation is everywhere. I tend to think that the only way to truly lessen it's negative influence on one's choices and be truly free is to be in a place to decide to really make up one's mind to turn from it and then, also, to learn to lean on God so as to gain increased strength to continue to be able to turn from it over time.
And....that is all from the peanut gallery today, lol.
Thank you for sharing you experiences on your journey. It helps others on their own.
Both of you are so right on your point if views. SIN is self inflicted nonsense; and will power along does not prevent temptation; however when you are tired of being sick and tired and when the fight is all out of you, then you are more likely to surrender to GOD'S WILL! NOT MY WILL; but yours DEAR GOD!
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