Shortly after birth, parents complete paperwork and the baby is assigned his or her social security number that will follow them throughout their entire life.
When we enroll at school, we are given a student number. In our district, and probably most districts, our children are assigned three numbers: a district ID, a state ID, and a federal ID. These student numbers roll into middle and high school also. We are then given a student number when we enroll in college. Mine was also part of my library system and my bus pass.
Other numbers we are assigned: grade point averages, class rankings, test scores, bank account numbers, drivers license numbers, credit card numbers, license plate numbers, computer passwords, addresses and phone numbers...how we keep all these things straight I'll never know. I had a mini panic attack when I heard that our credit union changes our debit card number when they issue our new cards! I have just a few more months before I'll have to memorize all that information again.
There's one number that takes the forefront of my mind always, and I suspect it's in the minds of a lot of other people. It's the very first number I talked about: our weight. When you are on a weight loss journey, your entire identity is wrapped up in that number sometimes. I used to own a scale. It got to the point in my journey that I was weighing several times a day. The day I caught myself weighing before a meal and determining if I was going to eat or not based on the number is the day I threw my scale in the garbage can. I no longer own a scale. I weigh in one day a week at my Weight Watchers meeting and that is all.
It's taken my losing and gaining and re-losing weight my whole life to finally start to realize that I am more than a number on a scale. That's a hard lesson because that number does try hard to define us, doesn't it? When I started with the school district my number was 361. That was a tough number to swallow but it was my number. The day I married Brian I was 219. The lowest of my adult life, or quite possibly ever. I'm told I was only 7 pounds, 14 ounces at birth but I don't remember that...I remember vividly though as I stood on the scale as a sophomore in high school and the scale read 241. I hate that weight is so critical to me that I remember these.
Weight Watchers has been using a new program called Beyond the Scale. The idea behind it is to not give the number so much power. We talk a lot of feelings and emotions and exercise and things other than the scale. Getting away from the mindset that whatever that number says on that scale is going to determine how you feel about yourself or how you feel about your week. I have learned for myself that there are so many other more important pieces to this journey than just watching the scale go down. So many other numbers, in fact.
54: I have lost 54 pounds since September. I am proud of that number and I try hard to remember that number when the scale doesn't reflect the work that I've put in in any given week.
128: That's how much lighter I am today from my highest weight ever and I've maintained a big chunk of that loss over the years, fighting to not get above 300 ever again.
87: The number of runs I have logged on my Couch to 5K/10K apps.
5: MPH - I've increased my sprint runs to this since September, up from 2.5.
27.5 - That is my total inches lost from my body in the last 24 weeks. If you are on a weight loss journey you have to start doing measurements because even if the weight stops falling off for a while, I've still kept losing inches. 6 3/4 inches alone have been dropped from my waist.
These numbers are numbers that I am so very proud of. They are numbers that keep me going when it gets rough. They make me think twice about my food and exercise choices. They are the things that keep driving me forward in my goals and in my plan to be better.
But, these numbers aren't even the important numbers. They are just numbers and while they may tell part of my story and they may be a little bit about who I am, they still don't define me as a person. They are all just measurements of accomplishments. They are all just stepping stones to a final goal in a journey.
Want to know some numbers that mean something to me? Numbers that define me? Numbers that make me who I am?
John 3:16 - defines me as a child of God. That I have someone who loves me so deeply He sacrificed His one and only Son for my sins.
Jeremiah 29:11 - defines me as someone who is important to God. That He has plans for me. Good plans! And wants what is best for me.
Matthew 28:20 - defines me as never alone. God will be with me to very end of time.
Psalm 23 - defines me as being a part of God's family, someone He takes care of and walks through life with.
Matthew 6:26 - defines me as important again. God takes care of each little bird and they do not want for food or shelter and how much more important we are to God!
Isaiah 41:10 - defines me as strong in the Lord. I should not be afraid for God gives me strength and help.
Philippians 4:13 - defines me as powerful with the help of God for there is nothing I can't do without Him by side.
These numbers are what are important! These numbers carry the many messages from God of my worth and my value. My weight? Not important! How fast I run a mile? Not important! The measurement of my waist? Not important!
God says I am important. God says I am worthy. God says I am loved and treasured. And that doesn't hinge on what the scale says. Loved no matter what! Saved no matter what! Treasured no matter what! You just have to give your heart and faith and trust to Him! He loves you. So very much! And it is so good and so beautiful in His love! Finding my place as a daughter of the King was the first step I needed to take in my life. Pressing into Him and reading His word and praying and talking to Him was the first piece that fell into place. The rest of it all - the running and scale going down and feeling healthier than I have felt in forever? Those all came in quick succession to leaning into my Heavenly Father!
Join me on my journey! Experience this intense love and joy and happiness and health that I have found for myself! He wants it for all of His children! I want you to experience this too! Let me help you on your journey! Let me help you find Him and all of the blessings that flow freely from Him!
No need to take a number...His kingdom is open for all whenever you are ready!
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