If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. Anne Bradstreet

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. Ether 12:27

Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season therof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul. And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion. D&C 59:18-20

Sunday, May 29, 2011

I've reached my previous low of 184.2

Today my weight matched my previous low of 184.2.  I include another chart to show that daily weight can very much be a yo-yo.  These yo-yo periods teach us that many factors go into how our body regulates weight, and changes from day-to-day can affect it.  But as long as one is following the calorie budget and getting in the daily exercise, the trend will be downward, and that's what is most important.

The upgrade to 900 steps plus doing a lot of yard and gardening work has really taxed my body this week.  Last night I tried to talk myself into not doing steps, into taking an extra day off to recover, but luckily for me, my stubbornness this time was on the side of not yielding.  As I did the steps, I felt it more in my muscles than I have for a long time, but that is good.

And that's what life is all about -- doing more than we think we are capable of doing so we become stronger.  If we only did what was comfortable and easy, we would be physical weaklings.  The difficulties of life in past centuries for the common people naturally produced more physical strength, but with the coming of modern conveniences, it is all too easy to slip into being a couch potato.

The same is true spiritually.  We develop a vending machine mentality -- just as we put our coins into vending machines and expect a product to be dispensed immediately, we expect immediate blessings from our obedience and virtue.  And as we buy insurance to protect us from the cost of medical and other emergencies, we expect our obedience and virtue to protect us from all adversity and hardship - a cover-everything, no deductible, no co-pay policy.  The expectation of being free from adversity and hardship is wholly contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I love the way it is expressed in this verse:

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.  Helaman 5:12

Why does God allow the devil to attack us so viciously?  To develop spiritual strength. We should look at adversity and hardship as being just as important for developing spiritual strength as physical activity and exercise is for developing physical strength.  And just as I've accepted God as my personal trainer in developing greater physical strength through weight control and physical activity, I must accept God as my personal trainer in developing greater spiritual strength.

Click chart to enlarge.

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