Hearing the whimpering on the other end of the phone was heartbreaking! The good news was that Collins was now living reality! Thankfully, at 52 I have learned to “drop my hands” in other peoples lives, especially my family, when it comes to things I wish they would see and change. Realizing….until it becomes “their reality” …it is only “my reality”.
“My reality”…doesn’t really matter to them nor does it promote change. They have to own their reality. We all do. It is only when a defining moment happens for us, which usually comes with some pain, that we can see the “truth” in a situation. Then and only then can we take ownership…even though truth may not be pleasant.
No problem was ever solved,
no goal ever reached,
no life ever changed
without looking at the situation squarely with no editing or reframing. Getting to the point in life where you are willing to be courageous enough to say, “I need to know what is true, not what I hope is true.” Looking for raw, unedited versions of ourselves and our actions can bring us to a place of positive change and growth.
For me personally, it has been “dropping my hands” in everyone’s life and living the “reality of my own life” that has promoted positive change and extreme growth. Realizing that at the end of my life, my scorecard is the only one I am required to sign in front of a Holy God. Recognizing and digging for “raw truth” for myself in my personal life and all my choices that I make has taken my life to places and purposes that I didn’t think were possible. ALL GREAT things!
For Collins…her raw reality…was that she had gained 22 pounds in her junior year in college. I had carefully tried to “ring the bell” for her. She knows I love her enough to tell her the truth even if it stings. But it wasn’t until she was putting on a golf skirt to go watch her boyfriend, Mike, play in a tournament that the unforgiving circumstances of “poor choices and denial” all came crashing down on her.
The skirt she had worn since 9th grade no longer fit! The phone call was pitiful but also the start of something really, really great! Collins, for the first time, owned “her reality!” She realized that she and only she could change her circumstances. She took immediate ownership and over the next 5 months lost all 22 pounds. She changed her food choices, used AdvoCare supplements and shakes, increased her exercise and stepped on the scales…weekly. She owned her choices that led her to the “unpleasant reality”. She owned her “choices” to take her to a different reality.
Reality will never fail you! It is how God sees everything. He uses reality to accomplish His purposes. Reality and truth are part of God’s DNA. He is “full of unfailing love and truth,” Psalm 86:15. Looking at reality and truth in our own lives is how He created us to live and conduct our lives.
Today…what is your “raw reality?”
No matter your circumstances…God is available to give you the eyes to see reality and the courage to face it, no matter how painful. He will equip you and direct you to taking those steps to a better you. It may not be easy but it will be well worth it!
A reminder…your mind is not always telling you the truth.
Your “thinker” sometimes thinks thoughts that have nothing to do with reality. That is why Christ instructs us to “take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ,” 2 Corinthians 10:5. We are capable of deceiving ourselves. Our perceptions can cloud our reality. Go to God. Ask Him to reveal truth in your life. Be prepared though, some of it might not be pretty….but it is the first step to a new you.
Have courage….look for YOUR REALITY!
Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”