I’m listening to an audio book about a fat princess
Who loses weight after a trek through the desert
An abduction
And I wonder idly if that might not be an excellent diet plan
Being abducted by desert dwellers
I like the story
Identify more than usual with the heroine
She is an unexpected leader
Insightful but also insecure
I consider the concept of weight for a moment
Not all weight is a bad thing
People lift weights to gain strength and muscle
Or so I’ve heard
The fishing pole next to me on the dock has a weight attached to it
Without it the hook would never sink
No fish for supper
Physics defines weight as
“the force exerted on the mass of a body by a gravitational field”
Such a non-emotional definition
A little detached
So like Physics
Weight can be used to mean importance
As in something having more weight than something else
Being more important
Statisticians love to use weight that way
“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me.” – John 5:36
And “weights and measures” is also a legal term
A definition for the length and width and volume of a thing
Its capacity
Most items have a fixed weight
A tomato removed from the vine
Is whatever weight the grocery scale says that it is
No more and no less
And more expensive the higher the number
The larger the tomato
“Honest scales and balances belong to the Lord;
all the weights in the bag are of his making.” – Proverbs 16:11
People do not have a fixed weight
What we ingest and what we do with our bodies
Even our hormones and water intake
Have a bearing on our weight from day to day
And weight in people often equals value
Even though I know it shouldn’t
We are all so much more than a number on a scale
But even I assume someone is more successful
More beautiful
If they are thin
Equating thinness with beauty
Assuming weight equals slovenliness
A lack of self-control
Despite the fact that many heavy people I know eat very well
Salads at every meal
Their weight gained a long time ago
Or even the result of factors beyond their control
The truth is that I know thin people
Full of self-righteousness and pride
An ugly heart of contempt for others
Even though their bodies are fit and lean
And overweight people
Who are full of gracious love for others
A pleasure to be around
Quick to give an encouraging word
“What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” – Matthew 15:11
But even though weight should not define value
I still feel the burden of it
And know I could be doing more to lose it
To feel better, more energetic
More capable
Since abduction by desert dwellers is probably a little far flung
I think again about what needs to happen in my life
To lose the weight that burdens me
Food still too often a short-term cure
For long-term problems
Fear, anxiety, sadness
Only God can fill those empty places in me
Without leaving me empty
The way food does
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” – Matthew 6:25-27
It’s slow going
This losing rather than gaining
Especially as I age
I have to remember that one step, one day in the right direction
Is one day better off
No matter what the scale says in that moment
We say people are laden with weight
When they are carrying too heavy a load
Literally or figuratively
And I wonder what burdens I need to set down
Burdens of envy or pride
or unforgiveness
Even towards myself
I know food is not the enemy
A beautiful loaf of Amish baked bread
Is not the villain in a story
Where the salad stars as leading man
Bread is good
There is a reason Jesus called himself
The bread of life
And any diet that removes all bread
Is not sustainable forever
Exercise isn’t the answer
Not by itself
And while fasting helps
Even Muslims gain weight during Ramadan
Eating more than enough calories in a single nightly meal
To make up for not eating during the day
“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” – John 6:35
I know what to do
All the things one has to do to lose weight
Reduction in calories
Portion control
Less sugar
That last one gets me every time
Especially when blackberry ginger ale is the nectar of the gods
Water feeling like a poor substitute
Even though it makes me feel better
My body happier when hydrated
The trouble is that the battle is really one of the heart
Not the stomach
A trying to fill the empty
With something that does not last
So today
This day
I fill my mind with prayer
And my heart with thankful praise
Choosing to let my value rest in Him
And I drink a refreshing glass of water
“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.” – Psalm 139:14
