Heres 3 photographs of me at 280 pounds in my gardens. It wasnt my heaviest, that was 335 pounds. I had diabetes, high blood pressure, severe sleep apnea, gout like pain in my feet, pitting oedema, my ankles were the size of my current thighs, my feet were so thick they wouldnt fit into women shoes or boots, I had incontinence, extreme irritability, and a deep emotional pain that had me disconnecting from friends, focusing on dogs, my property and my work. Bacterial cellulitis set into the skin on my leg then spread into my lungs and ended up hospitalized for 2 months. Every bible I opened, every ministry book or letter from a far away Christian friend would open on the story about how Jesus got into the boat and said take me to the other side, and fell asleep, and the waves and wind rose up and everyone was afraid for their life and woke Jesus up in terror thinking they were going to perish...and Jesus would say, Where is your faith and silenced the storm with his hand....It happened repeatedly... I was worried about that thing you never want to pray for more faith (lol)... My friend Dan Vanderveer called me when I had got out the hospital and he said... God wants me to read this to you... and again... he started to read the same story....Then he asked me, what did Jesus say first? and I said Where is your faith... and he said, No... He said Take me to the other side... meaning if he is in your boat you will go through all the wind and waves safely and will arrive safely on the other side and minister with Jesus.... Somewhere in there I made a decision to get control of my life and started to pray for change. I forcefully nagged my doctor to put me on the bypass list and now she is my biggest supporter as I am healthy and fit, and free of EVERY health issue I had... The bypass was the easiest part. I worked hard at overcoming my fears and untying the ropes that bound me though my prayer, my friends prayers and some hard work. It may have been annoying for some to hear me harp on and on in my Facebook... but I am very happy to know several of my friends are scheduled for gastric bypasses. My life has changed, and so will theirs...The hardest part was actively working on the root causes of my weight gain and my unhappiness, but I have had the greatest results and breakthroughs. My life has changed. I have been reaching out and been reconnecting with friends, making new ones and I have found I do have a lot to give. The other day Dan said to me, what is your ministry gift Lisa? (another trick question lol) and I said, I would said in the past evangelism, but now I am not so sure... and he said, No, its your generosity. You are a giver, and God gives to you so you can give to others... My other good friend Dealy from NS confirmed something similar to me a few weeks back, that I am a giver. Im thinking that is a pretty good ministry to have... as it means God will keep blessing me so I can bless others. Kind of a win:win. I am expecting much from my God, that He is going to answer every prayer completely and give me His best. Until then I am going to keep working at what is set before me and giving myself lots of grace as I tend to over-gush...And I will delight in all my friends who give me grace for over-gushing. I am indeed fortunate, and I trust there will be many more who will feel as fortunate and as blessed. Life is good and its definitely worth sailing through all the wind and the waves of lifes storm if Jesus is in my boat!
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 18:50:43 +0000
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