All Pleasant Things Must End

All pleasant things must end,

Whether warmth of flame or friend,

So lift your cup and let us be gay,

Too soon, too soon, we fade away.

The holidays are gone, the birthday is past. There will be no more feasting and revelry for another year.

For this, I am truly grateful.

Because honestly, I don't think I could've eaten more if some heathen tribe had been fattening me up for their own soup pot. I feel bloated, stuffed, poured into my clothing, unable to breathe, tired, and as one of the ladies in my group put it last night, "like I was some kind of slug," ...and we all know how sexy a slug looks. I mean, with all the slime and everything, who could resist?

So, the binge has ended. Yesterday I got back on the eating-what-I'm-supposed-to wagon.

Unfortunately, one of the wheels fell off because of the weight of the load. It wasn't pretty.

My goal at this point is to be back where I started before the eating frenzy set in. I want to do it in ten weeks, which is not unattainable, then spend the next ten working on the stuff I couldn't get rid of last time.

If there's one thing I've learned over the last year, it's that this is indeed a lifelong process. To tell you how committed I am, let me just say that there were three, count 'em, THREE birthday cakes this past week, and all of the leftovers are at my house. Two of them are going to Bob the Homeless Guy, and the rest will be eaten by my family. The remainder of the three-layer German chocolate cake will have no problem finding a home. I ate my fill the night before I restarted this plan, so it isn't bothering me.

What IS bothering me is the fact that all of my clothes feel as though they were painted on, a la Demi Moore. While it may have looked good on her, I could stand a few more coats with a bigger brush.

A MUCH bigger brush.

Why is it that the relapses always happen? What is it about me that cannot seem to fend off the Food Demons? Many times I've told my husband that it's like alcoholism, except that I HAVE to eat to live. Why did God make me this way? Why can't I just eat what my body needs and be satisfied?

My pastor spoke about struggle just this past Sunday. Not just the struggle against weight, but the struggle we all face as we try to walk the walk. I'll leave you with the passage of scripture he read, and please note that the bold comments are mine.

Colossians 3:1-17

He Is Your Life

1-2 So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.

3-4 Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

5-8 And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, overeating and doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk, gluttony.

9-11 Don't lie to one another or yourself. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions and bad ways of eating are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.

12-14 So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

15-17 Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

(The Message)