Moving Forward

Well 2011 has ended and it is time to move forward into a new year full of new changes, new adventures, new goals and new accomplishments, but first let's review some of the great things that happened last year.  Last year started out rather dark and dismal for me, I was physically unhealthy, with a lot of sickness and seemed to be spending more and more time at the doctor and laid up.  I was at an age where it was going to be the beginning of more major health issues if I did not make some changes, I was also at a point where emotionally I just felt like I was drowning and could not go on one more day.  I was so depressed and did not care and so tired of trying to be the person I thought everyone else wanted me to be.  Spiritually I was not growing, I was becoming stagnant and started to question just what my faith and God meant to me, which if you know me is not normal for me to think.  Then God started doing great things.  I meet with the pastor at church and another lady, who has become a great friend and started talking about the issues that were causing my emotionally downness.  I started making changes and dealing with these issues and God did some amazing healing.  From March of last year to December were amazing changes, I let go of unforgiveness, quit trying to please others all the time, learned to put myself first sometimes and changed how I look at things and especially how I look at me.  God healed several relationships that were on the verge of being over and are now much better.  I learned to share how I feel with those that matter most to me because keeping things all bottled up are not healthy.  I learned it is ok to be who God made me to be even if that makes me quite different, in fact that is who God expects me to be and when I am that person I am very happy.  Emotionally 2011 went out on a high note and I am looking forward to seeing what 2012 holds for me in this area and for ways to use what I have learned to help others in 2012.  Physically, I was faced with a big decision, it was time to do something about my weight as it was taking a toll on my body and I felt killing me slowly day by day.  Now don't hear me wrong, I am not saying that is the case for all people who are overweight and I strongly feel that each persons battle with their weight is their own and people can support them but not force them to make changes and that people should never treat them badly because of it, being overweight is a tough battle to fight daily and I love and support any person going through that tough fight and hope that my story can possibly be a inspiration to them.  My doctor thought I was having a heart attack in April of 2011, I could not breathe and had chest pains often, we checked my heart out and all tests said things were good, but with the bad heart family history, my doctor said it was only a matter of time most likely especially with my other health issues until, I faced the same problem.  So with the help and support of my lovely family and close friends and my prayer warrior friends, I decided to pursue a major drastic change and started the journey to weight loss through bariatric surgery.  In the last three months of 2011 I have lost 99 pounds since surgery for a total of 126 since I started this journey.  I have gone down 2 sizes and best of all I feel so much better and am so much healthier than I was before.  Spriritually God started challenging me to grown the last few months and I am working on starting some new routines and disciplines to help me with this in 2012.  I want to be more positive and less negative, more loving, more helpful and share with others all God has done for me so that they will see He can do that for them to.  I look forward to the many adventures, changes and opportunities God brings my way in 2012.  One last thought, many of you may have realized that I channged the blog title, some people suggested I needed to so I could share about all my life changes not just my over weight life and I agree, I hope that maybe my journey can be a help and inspiration to others.  God bless you all in 2012.