Life Lessons from my Wii Fit

No reason...I just like this picture with my man. :)

But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:24

I'm going to be up front and honest--I've been up since 2am, when a dream about ants in the closet woke me up with a start, so there's a real possibility that nothing I'm about to say will make any sense. And I don't know why I think my Wii Fit is funny, but I do. I exercise every morning, and there are some things about it that tickle me. And yesterday, while I was sweating away (before I get to my favorite, the snow ball fight, in which I knock oh-so-many of my beloveds right over with a perfectly aimed snowball), I got to thinking about some real life applications that can be made from my Wii Fit. So here you go, for your edification, and perhaps, entertainment.

1. You have to face reality. Once again, I am dealing with my weight. Let's face it, since I turned 20, I have always been dealing with my weight. But this time, for once, I'm trying to do it the right way. I am following Weight Watchers, which is very, very slow, but also steady. It is not quick. I would like it to be quick. But all the quick ways to lose weight and get fit don't work over the long haul. Because let's face it--I'm not going to give up bread forever and always. I love a potato more than I should. To completely cut those things out may take off the weight for the wedding (I do not want to be the fat grammy in 10 years in the wedding pics), but I'll put it right back on when I come back to Austria, land of the bread. (Seriously, I'm fairly certain the Alps are actually constructed out of delicious Semmel/rolls.) So, I can click the button to ignore the weighing in every week, or I can take the plunge and see how I've done. Then, I can face reality. I lost a couple of pounds. Or I gained a pound. I always know why. But I have to face reality and then deal with it.

2. On the other hand, you also have to ignore the little voice that says, "Oh!" when you step on. I hate that little cutesie voice. I really do. If you have a Wii Fit, you know the voice. It says, "Step on," and then sometimes, it says, "Great!" But then, there are those other times, when it says, "Ooooohhh..." You know, like ooooooohhhhh, how many scoops of ice cream did you eat? Or oooooohhhhh, do you need some help stepping up on the balance board with all that girth? I hate that voice. Because really, I have that voice in my head all the time. No matter how thin or heavy I am, that voice is at work. And you know what, I (and you!) need to kill that voice. Because that voice is not the voice of God. It's not. I know for sure. Any voice that criticizes everything about me, that tells me that how people feel about me is contingent on how I look or how much I weigh...nope, that's not my Maker. That's my enemy. Because that voice, when listened to, just makes me want to give up. And my God, friends, is not the God of giving up.

3. I get by with a little help from my friends. Some of you, unbeknownst to you, are characters on my Wii Fit. Yep. You're there with me every morning, cheering me on. Some of the folks doing step aerobics with me are the weird characters John created--my personal favorite is the guy who not only has a unibrow, but also has the misfortune of having a face that's upside down. (That isn't supposed to be any of you, just so you know.) But I find those little characters encouraging and funny. They make me smile. And I appreciate that they get up with me at weird times of the day/night and exercise. Because no actual person wants to do that at 3am.

4. It's all about my family. When I get on the Wii Fit every morning, my family shows up with me. There we are, all five of us. In fairness, the other four are often bent over snoozing, a little joke the Wii likes to make because it's sometimes really early. (And my character, left to her own devices, likes to turn around, look at her backside, and then put her hand over her mouth in distress. Not cool, Wii Fit. Not cool.) But they all wake up and help me along. They all show up for step aerobics, or they run on the course with me (sometimes, one of them is my guide who runs in front), or they toss me hula-hoops, or they do kung-fu with me. But all in all, they show up. Even my mom and dad show up and cheer me on (or take a snowball or two in the face--they're troopers). And in the end, isn't that the reason to lose weight and be healthier? Yes, I want to be the best me I can be, and I can hear somebody out there wanting to empower me to want things for myself, etc. But really, at the end of the day, for me it's all about them.

5. Life is a course we run. I'd like to run it well, just like He set it out for me. There's a lot about a Wii Fit running course that is very similar to life. There are hills and valleys, there are some weird characters along the way, and there are some really unexpected turns. But the finish line is always marked with arrows and this thing that hovers over it like a tornado. You always know where you're headed. I can't always see exactly where I'm going at any given moment, but the end of my race--whenever it comes--is clearly marked. He has a path set out for me, and He lets me know along the way which way to turn. My job is to do it. And when I don't--when I think there's a shortcut that'll get me some place faster--I very often end up flying over a cliff into the water. And that's never good, my friends. Never.

Well, my friends, time to turn the Wii Fit on, step on, ignore the voice, and do a little kung fu fighting and step aerobics. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are running your race well, and that you are about to see some folks you really, really love, too. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye