Two roads diverged in a yellow wood....

Twenty-five years ago I memorized the following poem for freshman speech class in college.  It has always stuck with me over the years and once again came to mind as my kids and I hiked at a place called Starr's Cave Park.  It isn't the first time it has come to mind over the past few weeks however.  Three weeks ago I blurted out the first lines when in a VBS planning meeting when one of the planners asked "Which road do we want to take with this?"  Then 3 days later our pastor referred to the same poem in his sermon.  This poem has a lot of spiritual principals in it and I think that is why I love it so much.  Here is the poem titled "The Road Not Taken."

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

This journey to lose weight has taken me down some pretty amazing roads over the past 7 months.  Most of them have been the less traveled road and they are making all the difference.  I am, thankfully, not the same person I was 7 months ago.  I am changing physically, emotionally, and spiritually and it is all good!  I am more confident with myself and with others because I don't feel like I am constantly being judged for my weight.  I have led in a couple devotionals, in our TLC Ladies Bible Study, and I have had the privilege of singing about my savior in special music at church with a boldness I have not had for years.  Serving is much easier without the extra weight to carry around as well. 

I am also able to participate more in my children's lives.  We have been walking together and enjoying the great outdoors of this wonderful Spring season.  If you had told me a few months ago that on April 17the I would walk/hike over 4 miles I would have laughed and said there was no way possible.  Not with my heels and back pain.  But today, I did just that.  My dog and I were up and out the door before 6:00am enjoying the peace and quiet of a new day while I prayed and gave God the day.  Then before we did school, the 3 of us and the dog headed down to the Mississippi River to walk together on the path down there.  After lunch my kids convinced me to hike at Starr's Cave Park.  Now this hike is not an easy one.  It involves a lot of up and down as we make our way along what it is known as Flint Creek.  It is a 2.8 mile round trip of path with only a short portion paved and level.  Once again as we walked, the poem above came to mind.  This path has many options to take and some of them are more difficult than others.  We pretty much let the dog lead us and we had so much fun!  I love being out in nature and experiencing life as God created it.  I am not sure if my heels will be swollen and painful tomorrow but regardless, it was a fun day of hiking today.

I had to smile as I entered my activity for today on my Weight Watchers Online account.  The exercising I did today gave me and extra 11 points for this week.  I smiled, not because I plan to use those points because I don't plan to use them.  I smiled because those points meant I had burned that much fat today.  I am trusting that my weigh in on Friday will show that I am finally beyond the halfway point in this preliminary journey and halfway to the point of beginning the primary of journey of keeping the weight off.  God has brought me down paths that I never dreamed of traveling.  God is always wise in what He does, always and I am counting it ALL joy!

Romans 5:3-4 "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."