“What’s the Word on the Street?” echoes in my house and in my mind many times a day. It shouldn’t, though. If I were doing what I’m supposed to be doing, you should only hear it once, maybe twice—in the house, anyway. It’s quite a catchy Sesame Street phrase that you not only hear at the beginning of every episode, but also repeated several times in its celebrity-studded commercial. The problem is, we’ve been watching way too much television (albeit PBS or favorite DVDs). So I can’t seem to get this phrase out of my head!
So, today’s “Word on the Street” is: Restart.
Today I am two weeks post-op; I have my follow-up appointment tomorrow morning. So I’m sure I’ll get the go-ahead from the doc to return to all of my routines before my surgery, which removed my tonsils, corrected my deviated septum and flushed out my sinuses. Unfortunately, I think I have used the surgery as an excuse to fall back into old habits that I thought had died hard.
As far as my “70 in 7” goals are concerned, I am doing just fine. While I made the 10-post goal for the month of May, my 10-pound goal was a little shy. However, since I couldn’t eat anything but ice cream following my surgery, I quickly lost the rest by about June 3rd. So here I am, 20 posts written, 20 pounds lost, and I should be proud of myself. Okay, I am, a little. I am frequently told I am too hard on myself, so I will give myself a pat on the back for that.
But, just this once. Because the overall goal here is discipline. And I don’t think I can just “fake it til I make it” this time. That would totally defeat the purpose.
That’s why it’s time to Restart. And there are so many areas that need it. Here are just a few…. This is the first time I’ve written in a week. I’ve watched television nearly all day every day with the girls this week since my mother left on Monday. I have watched TV more than one night a week for the last two weeks, and some days too. I have been eating plenty of food full of white sugar and white flour. I started to play one game of Spider Solitaire on my tablet. I haven’t read my daily devotional in Jesus Calling in several days (and come to think of it, I don’t even know where it is right now!).
Granted, Alex has been away on business the last ten days straight. Granted, I was recovering from surgery and trying to get my mind off the pain. And as the pain from the surgery, while still present, has gradually lessened over the last three days, I’ve also had a surge of back pain and a seriously upset stomach. Raining and pouring all the way.
But enough of all that. The “Word on the Street” tomorrow is: Grace. Grace to restart it all. I’m not perfect and can never claim to be; all I know is that I serve a perfect God who loves me in all my imperfections and gives me new mercies every morning. I doubt I’ll have it all figured out tomorrow anyway, but as I have said to myself, my friends and my family for many years, my signature phrase—“TGFT”—“There’s Grace for That.”
The Art of Choosing True Life 