Body Image Issues Reverse

When I was in my early twenties,  I decided to go on a drastic,  (medically supervised) weight loss program.  The plan allowed 500 calories a day.   The result of that was an amazingly quick, and considerable weight loss of 50 pounds in three months.   It was so drastic, that there were actually people who did not recognize me when they saw me after not having seen me for a while.

Of course, that was very thrilling,  or at least it would have been, if I had been able to process it;  if I had been able to see that change in the mirror.  But I could not.  When I looked in the mirror, surprisingly, I saw what I had always seen.   My mental image could not comprehend the new image in the mirror.   Because of that, for a long time, I continued to wear baggy cover-up clothes--nothing form fitting or touching my body.   It took many many months, if not longer, for my mental image to catch up with the reality of the mirror image.

Fast forward.  Now I am a senior citizen.  I gained most of that weight back over time, mostly in the past 20 or so years.  I gained and lost weight a number of times, through four pregnancies, and so forth.   I could probably be called a yo-yo dieter,  though I am less interested in diets these days than in eating healthy, nutritious foods.

But I have recently become aware of a strange phenomenon. When I look in the mirror these days,  I see the body of a much smaller person.   By what the scales tell me,  I am a much larger person than what my mental image suggests.  It seems as if my body image issues have reversed themselves.

Once, I could not see the smaller person I had become.  Now I do not see the larger person I must be. I'm not sure which one of those I think is better.

While I may not be the ideal size or weight I would like to be,  I am comfortable with my body, and in my own skin.   Most of all, I am extremely grateful for the wellness and health I have enjoyed thus far in my life.

That is worth infinitely more than any number on any scale!!

Palm Sunday

Ready for Palm Sunday and Children's Message

A Message for Children

Many hundreds of years ago, Jesus was preparing to go to the city of Jerusalem.  He entered the city in a very simple way--on a donkey.

People were happy to see him.  They were shouting  "Hosanna" which means, "Save us, Lord!

Many spread their coats on the road.  Others cut branches from the trees and spread those on the road.  That's why we call this Palm Sunday.

There's another kind of palm.  Can you think of what that is?   We all have one.   Even two!

Yes, the inside of our hands.   It is always with us.  In a few minutes, I am going to ask the congregation to wave their palm frond with one hand, and wave their other palm, too. The children and I  will wave our palm branches in both hands.   Whenever people are happy and excited, we often raise our hands and cheer and yell.  Right?

But before we get to that part,  I want to remind everyone that the palm we have in our hand is always a reminder that we can be God's hands helping other people.  We can help them up if they fall.  We can encourage others.  We can give a pat on the back, or a warm handshake or a hug.

So we can praise God with our palm branches today, but we can help others any time!

So here is our cheer.   The children and I will do the first part, and the congregation will give the response.

Children:  Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!

People:  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

One more time:  Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!

People:  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Wild Vine Climbing

There are these annoying wild vines that climb up and around every plant on our property.  They wrap themselves around, so that pulling them out is really impossible.  To pull out the twisty vine would mean you have to pull out whatever beloved plant it has wrapped itself around, which might be a rose bush, or a hydrangea or a hasta.    We have always found them to be unwanted pests.

I sat in the sun room one day and noticed some white blossoms at the very top of our large, old, tall lilac bush/tree in the back yard.   Lilac trees bloom in the early spring, so I was very confused about what I was seeing in the late summer.   It is a very tall bush.  By looking carefully,  I was able to tell that the white flowers came from twisty vines.  Gerry was able to identify them as wild morning glories.

After seeing them, and learning that,  I gained a really high level of respect for the wild morning glory, and its tenacity and determination.   I had never seen it flower before,  probably because it had not gotten high enough.   I so very much admire that plant's ability to find its way to the top, where it could become what it was supposed to be, a lovely morning glory.  There is a massive amount of intricately woven vines on the inside of the lilac,  the supportive base perhaps, the foundation.

Yesterday, I preached a sermon about the wheat and the weeds, and how there is a particular weed that grows which looks just like wheat.  You cannot tell the difference until it matures.   The weed can hide its true identity for a while, but eventually the true nature will be revealed.  You cannot sort out the wheat and the weeds until the harvest.

I feel like there is a similar kind of related lesson woven into the climbing morning glory.  The true nature of that annoying vine was not revealed until it reached the very top of the tree.!  What the plant was intended to be was finally revealed.

And of course, that is true of people too.   We can be annoying twisting pests sometimes, popping up in all the wrong places..   But when we find our way, our true selves,  what glory there is in all of that!   

The morning glory could not have made it without the support of the lilac.   It never could have bloomed.

Most of us could not have made it without the support of something, someone, somewhere along the way.  

 Friends, family, God, church, spouse, neighbors, love.

Not Prepared for the Love

This morning I preached at the Fayetteville United Methodist Church, from which I retired nine years ago.    I have been back a number of times before,  but none were like this.

Fayetteville UMC July 9, 2017

I was not expecting the warm and genuine welcome we received.   I was unprepared for the outpouring of love and hugs and appreciation.   I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback and comments about my sermon.   I had forgotten that unique and special connection between a beloved pastor and a congregation.  I was definitely that at the Fayetteville UMC today!

Perhaps most surprising of all were the comments from the new people whom I had never met before. They may have been the most enthusiastic of all!   One stranger came up to me and said forthrightly: "Well, I am impressed!"

I am not writing this blog to pat myself on the back.  I am writing it because I was so taken back to be filled with such joy.   Maybe there is nothing else quite like it---the relationship between pastor and congregation--and to be deeply appreciated for what you do, and for your effort.

On the way home, Gerry and I were discussing all this dynamic.  He commented, "Well, I suppose it is harder to sustain that, week after week."

I  am confident that I could do the sustaining for the worship part of ministry.  My greatest joy and fulfillment has always come from the research and preparation for preaching,  the writing of the sermon, and the delivery to the congregation.   But the truth is, those things make up a fairly small percentage of everything involved in ministry.

It is the other stuff that I could not sustain----the constant expectations,  the never ending demands,  the endless meetings,  the challenges of parsonage living,  the constant worry about finances,  the unexpected emergency,  the all consuming nature of the work and always being on call,  and on and on it goes.

Honestly, if ministry was about delivering a passionate sermon,  I think I could hit it out of the park every week.    But I am not very patient when it comes to the slow slow progress of change in the church.  I don't love committee work.   I am not really a party line person. I am not very good at confrontation.

I do not regret retiring.  I needed to do that for myself, to enjoy some years of relaxation,  to make family the priority, to live in our own home.

But today served for me as a reminder of all the wonderful parts of being a pastor.  It reminded me that indeed, my ministry there did make a difference at the time.

And there is really no greater blessing than that!