More people ought to listen to my opinion.  For every 100 I get wrong, 1 is right on!

At the early part of the year, I corresponded with a protein company about an idea.  Why not make all their protein bars smaller, and put them into a variety bag…  similar to the ones we buy at Halloween (only, those are M&Ms, Hersheys, etc).  Then we would not have to waste so much product if it goes stale as they would be individually wrapped for a serving, PLUS we would be able to enjoy all their flavors without spending a fortune…  However, due to cost restraints, the protein company was a “no go” on my idea.  I had also shared this with a few friends of mine.  

Yesterday I was minding my own business (which equates to me sitting at the ole desk at work, twiddling thumbs and wishing/waiting on 3:30 to arrive so I could start my weekend) when I get an email from a friend.  It said, “Looks like someone listened to your idea.”  And it was a picture of Supreme Protein’s new variety bag!  While they are not the protein company I shared with, and maybe they had their own lightbulb moment, WHO CARES!  It has afforded us an opportunity to have variety!  And save some of our funds!  Hallelujah!  (Don’t you think the folks at Supreme Protein should at least share their wealth with a few cases of these bags?)  Maybe I can hit them up for some free product for my readers…  ?

This morning I made some blueberry protein bread.  I was setting up the tripod and dishes on the table near a window so that I could get a great food pic.  I didn’t pay any mind to the pictures until I downloaded them.  But here was the very first picture.  It caught me off guard as I had forgotten I took this setup picture.  I thought, “Now that is a new style of food photography!”  Or, you could also see it as a very good diet that actually works!  (Some of you may need to examine the picture a little closer to “get” the joke! But I hope you see it right off)

I mentioned going to a retreat center this past Friday, and sorry I have not yet posted about my experience.  But, I have been processing and internalizing the things that occurred there.  I wanted to post a link to Oasis Christian Center located in Franklin, Kentucky in case you are in need of a place for retreats (women’s, men’s or couples).

They have a pond on the propery, surrounded by a concrete sidewalk with lamps all along it.  You can walk almost all the way around, and at the end there is a pavilion with a line of white rocking chairs.  You can just sit in the rocker and enjoy the wonderful view.  It is very peaceful.  Friday evening after service, I sat in a swing at the pond and listened to the fountain. Saturday morning I walked around, taking pictures and listened to the birds sing.  It’s away from the hustle and bustle of city life, and you can actually hear yourself think!

I realized through this retreat that I have spent a lot of time taking care of the outer person that I have become.  However, I have neglected the spiritual person inside.  We are complex individuals, made up of physical body, emotional, and spiritual aspects.  I believe that in order to be complete, we need to have all of these areas’ needs met.  This weekend was a time set aside to focus on the spiritual.  One of the women in the church opened the services with a thought that we should be filled with the fullness of God.  The thought came to my mind, “You know, Melinda, you used to be hungry for food.  You tried to fill a void with it.  You are hungry now spiritually and God has to fill that void.”  And, so that was the premis for my weekend…  trying to just be open, honest, and say “I’m lack.  I am not going to lie to anyone. I’ve sinned.  I am not perfect.  I need a touch from the Lord.”  Don’t you get tired of facades? I do.

I find that the Lord knows just where we need to be, and who to place in our paths.  I used to attend church with several ladies who have assumed a “motherly” type of figure in the church.  These women know how to pray through.  If you have a burden or a need on your heart, you can ask these ladies to pray and right then and there…  no questions asked, they will just gather round you and pray til the glory of the heavens come down!  I sat by one of these dear souls during the conference.  And, the first service, the speaker asked that we all team up with a prayer partner and share any needs we may have.  I turned to this dear saint, and she prayed and prayed, and I just cried and cried!  I say it often…  I may have lost 135 lbs in my physical body, but sometimes those spiritual burdens can weigh us down more than our physical weight did!  I walked away from that room knowing full in my heart that the Lord came down and took away my burden.  I laid my head down on my pillow that evening and slept so well…  peace reigned in my heart like I remember it.

Our pastor’s wife came by and asked, “Can I pray for you?”  Why sure!  I never turn down a request for someone to pray for me.  Now I must tell you, however, that when these ladies pray, you can fully expect to hear from the Lord, from his own heart.  They can come out with some stuff and you can look around asking, “Who told you that?  I didn’t tell anybody about that…”  LOL.  But you know the Lord can do some pretty amazing things.  So she started to pray.  And she mentioned fear.  Yep.  She asked for the peace of God.  Yep.  Uh huh.  Nodding head yes.  Ok. Then she said, OUT LOUD…  Are you ready? The fear of…  getting fat.  Hey, she wasn’t even politically correct and say “umm, obesity.”  No sirreee…  She said it fully outright the way it should be.  The fear of getting FAT.  F-A-T. and that’s not PHAT as in cool either.  Well don’t you know, yes I was standing there with not one dry spot on my face.  And she went on to say, “Melinda, you think the only reason you are or have been accepted is because you have lost weight.  That is not true.  You’ve always been accepted.”

I could just stop here and not blog on the subject any further, and you ladies and gentleman would know that’s the truth of how I feel.  I suspect that perhaps you too have felt or still feel that same way.  And, there is a fear, deep fear, normal fear, that if you gain weight that people will judge you, reject you….  now unless a person has been extremely overweight, and lost a tremendous amount of weight, I don’t expect them to understand.  But I have a feeling that you as a wls patient DO understand.  Maybe you are like I am…  I tried my best to pretend that it didn’t exist.  I avoided it.  I hoped and prayed that if I just closed my eyes or looked another direction and avoided it, that it would go away.  It wasn’t a fear that ran my life to the point I could not cope.  But it was a fear that did raise its ugly head on occasion and cause me some grief and anxiety.  I left the retreat center feeling lots lighter in my spirit.  There are some things that can take a counselor weeks and weeks of sessions to bring out…  and I am not downplaying the need for counseling.  But I am going to add that if you are a spiritual person in nature, don’t downplay the need for allowing the Lord to do a work too.  You know what?  The Lord doesn’t charge you an arm and a leg.  You don’t need health insurance to see Him. And, He does it better!