This Isn't Fair - Chapter 10

Saying "it's not fair" has caused many a girl to toss aside what she knows is right for the temporary thrill of whatever it is that does seem fair. - Lysa TerKeurst I was caught up in this very life's-not-fair pity party just the other day. My body seems to have a death grip on a certain jean size and takes forever, or so it seems, to show a difference in the mirror. The scale will show decreasing numbers rather slowly, but even after 20 pounds, I don't look any lighter and I can still be in that same sized jeans. I was complaining to God just the other day, "Why can't I lose weight like so and so? It just falls right off of her." Lysa's words in chapter 10 are timely for me.

"...once we taste the forbidden fruit, we will crave it worse than we craved it before." -Lysa TerKeurst

Lysa just keeps hitting the nail on the head. Last week was a good week for me. I resisted the table laden with sugary desserts in Sunday school and the various treats left in the staff lounge all week. I even threw out the muffin that a student gave me Friday morning. (I did this after school so as not to hurt the child's feelings). But around 4:00 or so, I got that afternoon lag. I was tired, stressed, had a to-do list a mile long and wondered if I'd make it home without a huge stack of papers in tow. I passed through the staff lounge and there were those soft, frosted sugar cookies just staring me down. They were the melt-in-your mouth sugar cookies, not some hard, crunchy things. I stood there and thought, "I've been good all week. One cookie isn't going to hurt things. I'll just have one and that's it." Well I really did just have one, but it sent me on a downward spiral and my dinner choices were anything but healthy. And my portion control flew right out the door. I woke up around 1:00 am with a stomach ache and heartburn and felt physically listless all day Saturday. I paid a big price for caving into the temptation. Instead of turning to Christ, I turned to a cookie and even though it was the melt-in-your-mouth kind of cookie, it led to a bitter taste. All it brought was a guilt-laden conscience and a loss of all self-control for the next several hours. The price was not worth the few moments of taste-so-good. So what's your go-to script going to be? I really liked Lysa's prayer on page 102. It sets a good example for us and can be a springboard for our own go-to script. Mine might go something like this: "God, that _______ looks really good right now. I feel powerless against it. Please strengthen me and make your power perfect in my weakness. I resolve to take care of your holy temple and make the right choice here. Show me the way of escape so that I may honor you." I think if I had prayed that prayer on Friday, I would have kept walking and left the cookie there, or better yet, thrown the whole thing away because there's no way I would eat it once it hit the trash can. I encourage you to come up with your own go-to script so that you are prepared the next time that unhealthy choice rears its ugly head.