He Who Has Hope Has Everything

Are You Living in the Moment?

A while ago I had a couple people message me asking what my secret was when it came to losing my baby weight and maintaining. They asked to share my top three tips. But honestly there weren’t tips or a grand plan, other than I truly value my health. I’ve made it my mission in life to live as healthy and happy as possible and share that lifestyle with others.

 

“He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything.” - Thomas Carlyle

I love this quote. I do. Hope is magical.

This week is Thanksgiving (Happy Thanksgiving to All!) – a time to be incredibly thankful and grateful. I’ve reflected a lot on my life this past week, to the point where I scared myself. I think about all the different stages and phases in my life and how they’ve come and gone, fast. How the things that seemed to matter then don’t really matter that much at all now.

And how worry is such a waste of time. Same with anger and stress and negativity.

I think everything that has happened in my life has shaped me into who I am. But I can’t help and wonder if I'm truly living in the moment? Are you?

There are mixed emotions growing inside me right now. I know the moment I’m in right now (as much as I try to be mindful and enjoy) will soon be an awesome, but distant memory. Jackson is going to be a big guy sooner than later – I can’t stop it. I want to hold on to him. Forever. I want to hold on to my husband. I want to hold on to my parents. My brothers. My in-laws. Every single one of my friends. I love them all. So. Much. I want things to stay the same forever.

I get mad that they can’t, but at the same time I’m excited for the future too. The next “big” thing is coming! My mind took off and all of a sudden I was 40, then 50 and then this 90-year-old woman who thinking about her next stage in her retired life, knowing very well what that was…

There wouldn’t be a next phase [on earth]. That scared me.

What would I be thinking then as a 90 year old? I did all I could? Would I wish I did things differently? Would I think everything worked out exactly how it should have?

I was lucky I was envisioning myself as a 90-year-old. What about someone fighting for their life? All the thoughts and feelings and questions and heartbreak. Why them? Why then? What happened? Why? Why? Why?

For example, one of my dear friends (one of the sweetest people I have ever met in my life) lost her dad suddenly to a heart attack last week. Why? A friend from church recently married and was on his way out the door to his honeymoon and his new mother-in-law passed away four weeks after her pancreatic diagnoses. What? How? Friends from high school are losing their parents. A past coworker of mine has a brain tumor. And out of the blue I received an email from a woman sharing her story. Three months after giving birth to her daughter, doctors told her she had 15 months to live. NO!! I can’t even imagine. I can’t. Heather was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma – her dad’s work clothes soaked up asbestos and she was exposed. She was diagnosed in November, making every November tough to face – a constant reminder of that diagnoses. But her mission is to make sure we all take a moment to value life and the value of gratitude. Read her incredible story here.

With all that said, on my drive in to work this morning I was overcome with gratitude for my health, my husband’s, my son’s. It is the greatest gift.

So, answer the above question - how did I lose the baby weight and keep it off? I let go. I started trusting God. I forgave. I stopped pointing fingers and looked deep within myself. I loved who I am, who I’m becoming, who I will be. I fueled my body with good – natural, real ingredients. I treated my body with respect. I danced. I ran. I jumped. I played. I sang. I had fun. I prayed. I shared my world with others. I let God shine through me. I let myself light up the world. I spread my wings. I laughed. I talked. I listened. I hugged. And I LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

God is a loving God. He would never allow us to love this much and take it all away for good. Something grander beyond our wildest dreams is out there, waiting for us. This is where hope comes in. Enjoy this life and your journey. We don’t know when it will end but we do know how to make the best of it and the worst of it.

We get to make the choice.