Discipline

This week I finally did something that I should have done several months ago, I went back to Weight Watchers.  I stopped going seven months ago and was doing well until I had my surgery in September.  A few weeks of sitting home with little activity found me eating more and moving less and I put on quite a number of pounds.  My reasons for returning to meetings and getting back on program were for health reasons, to feel good and to have more energy and, in my vanity, to look good at my daughter's wedding coming up next October.  But I also found that a big reason is to have more discipline.  I was finding that I was lacking discipline in several areas of my life and I am working on getting back on track.  Weight Watchers program is highly structured and for the plan to work, you have to follow it, keeping track of what you eat, and changing the way you look at yourself and your life.  It's not just about losing weight, and it affects more than just eating.

One of the areas where discipline is absolutely necessary is in our prayer life. I know how important prayer is, but laziness or spending time doing other things often takes precedence over my prayer. When this happens I find that things just don't go right when I don't give God the time He deserves and the time I need to hear His voice. Just like the weight creeps up when I am off program, when I am not praying other things begin to seem more important and I lose sight of how I should be living my life the way God wants me to live it. I get depressed, anxious and everything I am and do are affected, and not in a good way.

We are called to be people of prayer.  It is funny, but I am finding that prayer is helping me keep on program.  When I have the desire to grab for something that I should not be eating, saying a quick prayer asking God to give me the discipline to say "no" often helps me keep on track.  Prayer is a wonderful thing. Now I just need the discipline to get on that elliptical machine, life some weights, or go for a walk.