Yes...She's Human

I struggled as to whether or not I should write this blog. I don’t normally write anything related to my opinion on celebrity life, but this one got under my skin. Oprah Winfrey’s recent weight gain has made it to a top news story. It’s being published by all news sources as some major late breaking news event. To me, the only late breaking piece of that story is that it proves that she is HUMAN. Yes, she gained weight. But I have to wonder if this was a true weight gain. They are claiming it is a thyroid problem, which may very well be true, but she said in an article that her struggles with an out-of-balance thyroid made her develop a “fear of working out”. She stated that she is “embarrassed” and “mad at herself”. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know too many people that wouldn’t be embarrassed at weight gain and be mad at themselves for allowing it to happen. Now, I don’t TIVO Oprah or give much credence to her advice because she has had too many conflicting views over the years. I don’t believe in the idolization of Oprah. She is human, and she is flawed just like the rest of us. I respect her success and would never bash her as a person, but I don’t think her weight gain deserves the media attention it is getting. Her plan for 2009 is to “get back on track”….the same resolution many of us will commit to. What is most disturbing to me is that there are millions of women out there who faithfully watch her show. They will identify with her weight gain, and those who truly do have a thyroid problem will try to fit into the mold called “Oprah”. They will try whatever weight loss program she endorses and may or may not loose the weight. Oprah is one of the wealthiest people in the world, who has unlimited resources at her disposal, unlike the majority of us. We are commanded to not make idols, and I believe this is exactly what Oprah has become. Whatever she endorses, many people buy into and this is dangerous. There is only One Truth…Jesus Christ.

And by the way, you don't think Oprah gained weight just so she could take it off again for ratings and magazine sale’s, do you? We’ll see if she wheelbarrows in another 67lbs of fat onto her show in 2009…my money is on the wheelbarrow.

One Day at a Time

So, this week I decided to start exercising again. Now the key word there is AGAIN. Now, I will admit that I have never been the most athletic person God created, but I can do a few things here and there when I choose to. Recently I stopped exercising because of some health issues, but even after the issues stopped I managed to sleep in for far too many days instead of getting back on the treadmill. There’s nothing worse (ok that’s an exaggeration, but it feels that way right now) than starting over trying to get in shape. It’s a weird combination of “Yay! I’m back to working out! Weight loss here I come!” and “I’m a complete looser that I can’t run longer than 5 minutes without a cramp!”. I really have never been one of those people that enjoy exercising. I see it as a chore with future benefits. I have said so many times after day one of exercising, “I’m never going to stop again, getting started is so much harder!” And what happens? I stop for one reason or another. Just like with most things in life, it takes much more work to do something positive, than to quit, or give up. Quitting is always easier than starting something new because the amount of work it takes to quit is very little; the amount of work it takes to maintain something (a healthy body, a marriage, a friendship, a job) is not easy. I’ve been thinking about my complete lack of discipline in my life. I have found that I have never regretted sticking something out. I’ve never regretted working hard. I’ve never looked back and wished that I hadn’t tried as hard as I did at one thing or another. But I have regretted quitting; I have regretting taking the easy road…because the easy road has always lead to a more difficult path. And I am travel weary.

The easy roads of marriage lead to difficult paths of resentment and pain. The easy roads of friendship lead to acquaintances. The easy road of not taking care of yourself lead to a difficult

path of poor health. Life is a domino effect. Everything crumbles if you don’t do the continual work to maintain it. For me, my self- discipline is lacking in most areas because I have an overriding fear of failure. It is something I battle everyday. I realize that not trying and not failing is a greater failure than trying and failing, however, sometimes that is a difficult thing to do. I am not a task-oriented person; I am a feeler. And if something doesn’t feel right, I don’t do it. This is not Christ-like, it is of the flesh, and I know this. I know that Christ has a higher expectation for me than for me to sit back and coast. I can’t coast my way into a better body, I can’t coast my way into a better relationship with my husband, I can’t coast my way into a successful career and I can’t coast my way into a strong relationship with Christ. The best thing I know to do at this point in my life is take it, as they say in 12-step programs, “One Day at a Time”. Recommitting (or Committing period) to a self-disciplined life is not something that can be done over night, especially for a non-task oriented person. But, I know that I can commit to waking up everyday and making a choice to be self-disciplined that day. I know that I’ve exercised the past 2 days, and I will wake up tomorrow and do it again. I know that today I haven’t snapped at my husband, and tomorrow I will try to do it again. I know that today I was efficient at work and tomorrow I can do it again. I know that I can do things one day at a time with His help…because He knows I cannot do it alone.

So Today I’m back in the proverbial saddle, ready to take things one day at a time.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12"1-3