Sometimes I get tired of hearing complaining. There are people out there that don’t have enough time for this, or complain because they don’t like the way they look, or they aren’t spending enough time with their kids because of a job that they dislike (this was me). What do you do when life gives you lemons? You make the most epic lemonade ever (and not the drink!)
As our Pastor said – you can reap that fruit (of life) all you want, but what if the fruit is rotten? What do you do then? In life and in this parable, you have 2 choices you can make. You can keep going on the path you are already on, producing rotten fruit. Or… You can rip it all out, start over from scratch, and make a better crop!
On a personal level, I always wanted to be one of the those people who said “Just change it.” but I was always the one afraid to take that first step. We tell our kids this, but we don’t do it ourselves. How can you learn to swim if you don’t get in, kids? How can you ride a bike if you never get on, kids? The same thing goes in our lives as adults. We work a job, 60 + hours a week, feeling drained from it. It all takes its toll on you.
We feel so busy & rushed, so we make poor decisions. We eat fast food more than we want to.
Until one day you decide “I’m Done”. You walk outside & tear out that rotten plant, producing rotten fruit. You decide you deserve more than that. You need to see what is standing in your way.
I knew that I needed to exercise, but I kept making excuses. I stayed in a job that was not fulfilling in any sense, because I was too scared to take that step “out” of my comfort zone.
I didn’t want to be that person that says “woe is me“. I wanted to be the person that got spun around and knocked down… but stands up… shakes it off and does it again. I wanted my kids to see me being that person. They needed me to be that person!
And so I did…
I resigned from my job and I am self-employed and so much happier than I have ever been. I see my family more, work when the kids are asleep, go to school functions (finally!), coach our kids in sports, take walks in the park in the middle of the day… because the kids or my wife wants to go. I can wake up in the middle of the night (well… sometimes. Becky handles this one usually. I swear I just don’t hear them!)
I started going to the gym. Every day. The first day that I went, our oldest son Jack asked Becky “Where’s Dad?” to which she answered “He’s at the gym. He’ll be home soon.” Jack replied… “Mom (in a sarcastic tone)… Dad doesn’t go to the gym. You do.” He was right. Becky goes to the gym every day, taking only Sundays off. I had spent my whole childhood and my college years working out and I just didn’t go anymore. Work got in the way. Life got in the way. Excuses were my barriers. I wanted our kids to see me taking care of myself. I wanted them to see that I cared enough about THEM to take care of ME. I wanted them to know that I could take a jog with them in the mornings if I wanted to (and now we do), I could play at the playground with them (and now I do), I could be the role model that they need me to be.
I started eating healthier. How can I tell our kids “Eat fruit, not that slice of pizza.” when I wasn’t doing it. Practice what you preach, right? “Drink that water, not that sweet tea.”
If you truly want to change, you do it. You can’t force someone to change if they don’t want to. You can’t wait until Monday for every life change. You can’t wait until the kids are older before you do whatever it is you are waiting on. If you want to make a change in your life – do it. Do it today. Do it right now.
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What an incredibly heartfelt post. Congratulations on making the courageous decision to step out of your comfort zone to make such a big change for yourself. It can be so hard but you’re right…at some point you just have to decide you deserve better!