Moving from Reluctant to Willing

This post is by Patricia Lewis.

This is my very first real blog post.  I am reluctant to begin writing, and the due date looms ever closer as I finally begin typing these words.  It isn’t that I don’t want to write it; it is that I doubt why I am writing it and if this is really what I am called to do.  Most of us can probably relate.

So, here goes…  I’m so glad to have you along for the very first steps of what I hope will be a long journey: a nice winding, meandering path of my moving from reluctant to willing--willing to write words to encourage and lift up another woman in her walk of faith on her own journey to make the most of each day.

In order to refresh my mind and heart about Move Time, I delved back into the Hello Mornings book by Kat Lee, specifically, chapter seven.  I found this question, Am I fit enough to do all God has called me to do with excellence and joy in this season of my life?  What a good personal reflection question!  

As I considered being fit enough to do all God has called me to with excellence and joy, I wanted to become willing to start somewhere and stay with it.  The Hello Mornings three-minute morning challenge uses anchors, the habit you plan to establish and maintain, for each of the God-Plan-Move times.  For Move, the anchor suggested is to drink a glass of water. That is where I began to understand it didn’t have to be super hard or complicated.  I just needed to commit and persevere.

As I’ve developed my anchor for my Move, I discovered a few truths about myself.  Perhaps they can help you as you discover your own anchor.

1)    Committing to a glass of water in the morning and always having water with me means I will stay hydrated most days. Being hydrated comes with endless benefits, some of which are a clear mind, extra energy, not feeling hungry when you are just thirsty and flushing toxins out. 

2)   I need nine hours of rest in bed. Because I get up several times to use the bathroom and I tend to be restless in my sleep, planning for nine hours in bed means I will get the optimal amount of rest most nights.

3)   Those ten squats while brushing my teeth or waiting for the shower to warm up or making tea on the stove, those squats that I used to laugh about when other people said they made a difference, are now my go to Move every day.

4)   Stretching makes a big difference. I do have to make myself do it every day, purposefully fitting it in whenever.

It took me four years to develop these habits. I started with the water and built on that.  In the past when I tried hard stuff, it never worked more than a couple days.  Changing simple habits has made the difference.

I stick with water, even if I don’t get to any other part of my daily Move routine.  Just like I started with Jesus and I am sticking with Him, no matter what.

“Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”  (John 4:13-14 ESV)

Thank you for hanging in there with me through this blog post and reading it to the end.  I feel so much better now that I have moved from reluctant to willing. 

Patty Lewis lives on the Space Coast of Florida with her Husband, Son, Mother-in-Law, dog and two cats.  She is a homeschool Momma, loves serving other Moms in her Church and community through encouragement in practical ways and enjoys reading, gardening, Disney, anything with her family and laughing really loud.

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash