Finding the Motivation to Be Strong and Healthy

Bear with me a moment as I share a bit of my personal history.  It really helps you get a picture of where I’m at and how I got here, which has a lot to do with the topic of this post. 

I got married a month after I turned 19 to my wonderful husband.  I was generally healthy and weighed 134 lbs.  We started our family pretty quickly, having our first baby two weeks late and 2 days after our first wedding anniversary.  {grin} I gained 52 lbs during the pregnancy.  With lots of work and time I lost most of the weight. 

Then I got pregnant, gained weight, and had my first miscarriage.
Followed right away by Joseph’s pregnancy and weight gain (50+lbs).
I lost some of the weight, getting down to 182 lbs.
When Joseph turned 3 months old I got pregnant with Emma(pregnancy 4).
I gained weight.  Had Emma.  Lost part of the weight, but never again got below 185 lbs.

When Emma was still a baby I got pregnant and had my second miscarriage.
Followed by Daniel’s pregnancy and weight gain.
Then Oliver’s pregnancy and a smaller weight gain. 
Pregnancy #8 became my 3rd miscarriage. 
Then came Caleb, with a modest weight gain.  He was almost 4 months old when I got pregnant with Mason.  I weighed 195 lbs.
My 10th pregnancy in 11 years.  My 10th weight gain. I finished Mason’s pregnancy weighing 216 lbs.

Through it all my motivation to lose weight has fluctuated.  There hasn’t usually been enough time to lose all the weight I’ve collected over ten pregnancies.  Sometimes it seems pointless when I am generally pregnant again before the current baby turns 6 months old. 

Since Mason’s birth almost 4 months ago I’ve stayed semi-motivated.  My eating is better than it’s ever been and I’m exercising at least a few days a week.  I’m at my lowest weight in years, 188 lbs, and have lost all the weight I gained in Mason’s pregnancy plus some.  I also still have a long way to go. 

During my scripture study recently God gave me a huge push in the motivation department.  I was reading about a man lame from birth who was carried every day to the gate of the temple (Acts 3:2).  In the past I’ve skimmed right over the detail that he was carried every day.  This day, however, I noticed, and several thoughts came to my mind.  First was the faithfulness of those who carried him.  They are not named, we don’t know if the man was carried by his parents, his siblings, or his friends.  We do know he was a man.  He was not a child and carrying him must have been hard work. 

Then I felt a nudge.  God pointed out that my son is going to need lifted and carried at various times, even as a young man or adult.  It’s part and parcel with being a parapalegic.  I need to be strong enough, healthy enough to carry my son.  Even as he grows.

It was a perspective I hadn’t gained yet, a very motivating one.  What I’m doing today matters.  Every day that I choose to exercise and eat good food is a day that I strengthen my body to carry my son.  It’s not always easy to fit exercise in around seven sweet children, homeschooling, housework, medical appointments, and life in general.  As a matter of fact it’s downright difficult.  I get frustrated when every time I get 10 minutes into a workout somebody needs me right.this.minute.

After God’s lesson I realized I need to create my opportunity to work out.  I set a simple, maintainable goal, and told God about my plan.  Any time I wake up and the clock reads 5:00am or later I will get up and exercise.  If I happen to sleep in until my children get up then I’ll exercise later in the day if I can fit it in, and if not, no guilt. 

Want to know what’s funny?

God has woken me up at 5:00am every day since I set that goal.  No alarm clock, I just wake up.  I exercise, shower, and still have plenty of time to cook a healthy breakfast at 7:00am when my children wake up.

I am learning that God makes a way for us to do difficult, necessary things, even when we think there is no time available. 

What difficult, necessary thing is God asking you to do?  Have you asked for His help yet?  He’s waiting to help you!