Fried Chicken and Onion Rings
Healthy life styles at home are hard, healthy lifestyles on the Race are even harder. I went from a chizzled tummy to an “I really hope my pants still fit!” Day after day I have to fight an internal battle of abandoning control over my life, even if that means gaining 20 pounds.
“You gave up control when you signed up for the race.” That is what one of my teammates had to remind me of when I came to her completely disheartened at what my size had become. At home I worked a 12hr workday, which pretty much consisted of working out the entire time then came home and worked out for an additional hour. I was the slimmest I had been since high school, I was getting compliments on my size and it felt so good to be able to give clothes away simply because they were too big. But the thing about all of this is that I had complete control over my lifestyle. Being active was easy, I had a refrigerator full of healthy snacks, and I was living a lifestyle that complimented what I wanted.
As I have traveled to 7 different countries on the world race one thing that I have noticed so evidently is the way that people like to bless strangers and show hospitality. With FOOD and offerings. I meet someone new almost every single day. I am being welcomed into strange homes for prayer sessions or hosting community events. People want to show you love; they want to show you how thankful they are to have you in their presence. Sometimes it looks like offering you the last of an earthquake victim family’s beaten rice on the side of a mountain and other times it can be with a simple candy and coffee. Sometimes you are given a glass of pop or fresh buttermilk and expected to drink up! (I hadn’t drank pop in years before the race by choice) No matter the expense, big or small, it is still a sacrifice, an offering, and a gift. And with that I will accept it with a full and thankful heart.
Exercising on the race is a very strange thing, it seems to always be affected by something. Some countries it isn’t safe to be running around, you can’t find a buddy or the month schedule is literally from sun up to sun down. It’s hard to have very little control over how active I can be, coming from someone who literally never stopped back home. But this is what the Lord is teaching me, I do not have control for this season of my life, and boy am I learning.
While in Thailand, our house had a perfect balcony, one where I could have just enough privacy and access to go work up a sweat for a while. After feeling accomplished with my work out, feeling proud for doing something good for my body I am informed that our host mom had just finished preparing the team dinner. There on the dinner mat was a big, huge plate of fried chicken and onion rings. “I wanted to make you something special from home” our host mom said, with a grin from ear to ear. After such a work out the last thing I wanted and needed was greasy deep fry. But I sat down, looked at my mom and thanked her so dearly. I took a big ol’ bite of that greasy chicken and ate with a grateful heart. It’s not about loving myself; It’s about loving others through my actions.
As my clothes continue to fit less and less I am learning that no matter how I look or how “puffy” my cheeks are getting, that my identity is not in what my dress size is but in how God is alive and working within me. How He has been working out parts of my heart that I never gave any attention to before because I was too busy working out my muscles and self-image. It’s not an easy concept to grasp so please continue to pray for me in this area.
Eat, pray, love. This is my world race in 3 words. Yes, I’m going to eat what is put in front of me because I am thankful and want to love on my hosts. Yes, I’m going to pray, pray that God continues to teach me on how to live without control. And yes, I am going to love, love in every way that I can. Weather that is being grateful for a plate of greasy chicken after a work out or drinking warm buttermilk while being welcomed into a shady house. My body is not my own, it belongs to the Lord. I don’t always have control over how it can look or what I can put into it. But the Lord is teaching me that as I have chosen to dedicate this year to the Lord, I have dedicated everything about me. Because this year is not about me, it’s about putting myself second in hopes to bring others up.
