Waiting Room

Posted earlier on Facebook...but wanted to keep it here as well.  

Lately, I have been sitting in the "waiting room" of life trying to get things to move one way or the other. You know that feeling when you have a 2:00 appointment and your doctor is overscheduled and it is 3:20 and you wonder if you'll ever get in. You sit in the waiting room reading magazines from 2011 and trying not to gag over something being covered on CNN while you contemplate the choice of sticking it out or rescheduling.

Some things you cannot reschedule. Waiting on people to make a decision. Waiting on people to decide to make needed changes. Waiting on your weight plateau to move.

That latter one has been my world for the past week. I've done what I'm supposed to do. Shown up and given it my all at the gym. Recorded my food intake and tried to expand the variety. Endured my digestive system shutting down and leaving me feeling like I was as full of it as I suppose some people think I already am.

Then last night, in the midst of being kind of mad that no matter what I did, nothing was moving...literally...I felt the metabolism kick into high gear again. Know that "high gear" is relatively speaking, of course.

Maybe it was the fact that I've missed Allyson's class for the past week and I actually tried to run the six laps in the parking lot that she had us do last night. (Running hasn't really happened a lot in my life for the past decade...if at all.) Perhaps it was the dreaded "box" that Coach D has me pop up and down on that I hate so much but do as un-spastically as possible. Maybe it was the fact that my body had to be reminded to face the reality that this isn't going anywhere anytime soon but I'm not giving up this time.

All I know is that my weight popped back down to where it was before my little spike a week ago and that I'm feeling better today than I have in a week. Except I'm a bit sleepy and I'll miss having Jodie's class tomorrow since she'll be off doing something fabulous that she wants to do.

I also know that a kind gym member stopped last night and told me that he had noticed how hard I've worked and congratulated me on it. I mentioned the plateau, and he told me that I needed to just embrace it because it was God's will for me right now. Chances are there was something that I was supposed to learn from it. Patience, maybe? Testing my resolve? Making me appreciate those days that show the scale moving down instead of just the same or up? I don't know...but being reminded that I need to just embrace those tough days where I feel like all I'm doing is for naught...just letting God direct my steps and being satisfied and content with just doing all that I can...is enough.

There's a lot to be said about contentment when things aren't the way that you want them to be. Of being satisfied that you've done all that you can and that the rest is up to God to direct. Of knowing that it won't always be this way because if I keep doing the right things...then because of the universal laws...the change that I want will occur.

He also mentioned that I might change up my routine a bit. Do something more difficult than what I think that I can do. Perhaps walk/run outside instead of hitting the elliptical. Interesting. I just know that I have a new attitude and can pretty much endure sitting in the waiting room a whole lot easier than I could just 24 hours ago.

Of course, the scale going down today helped a lot. So did the reminder from Allyson to check my measurements soon because that's probably where some of the progress will be noted. I'll be doing that in a few days as I do it at the first of every month. It gave me hope and sometimes a little hope is all you need.

The other day I received a sweet card of encouragement from a friend who is monitoring my progress and who just took the time to send me a note of congratulations on the 50 pounds off. It was the kind of thing that you don't expect but one that came at exactly the right time. I need to be looking around and doing more of that for others...and I intend to.

Maybe my time in the waiting room was to get me to finally look up and ask the Great Physician for help. I have and I know He will answer. This makes all of the difference.