LIGHTWEIGHT PROBLEMS IN PERSPECTIVE by Jeanne Gowen Dennis
Lightweight Problems
Losing Weight at Last
For thirty years, I complained that I couldn’t lose weight. “Eat less. Exercise more,” people said. It never worked.
Then suddenly last fall, the inches started coming off. I can only attribute it to cutting out gluten and other foods that disagree with me. Getting more sleep. Drinking more water.
And possibly spending a month in Southeast Asia. There I fell in love with fresh vegetables. Vegetables with small amounts of meat for breakfast. And for lunch. And for dinner. I walked almost everywhere I went.
Keeping It Off
Here at home I cook more variety of foods, but I’m still losing weight. I don’t walk nearly as much as I did in Asia, but I exercise several times a week. Because I don’t want to gain the weight back. But now I’ve developed some new problems.
Lightweight Problems
For so many years, I looked in the mirror and dreamed of wearing a smaller size again. I never believed I would. I never realized how many more wrinkles would appear on my face when I did.
In March, I needed a smaller size in jeans. By June, I had to buy the next size down. The March jeans didn’t even show wear. Then because none of my better clothes fit, I purchased new ones for a convention. It was beginning to get expensive!
Now I’m altering my favorite clothes so I won’t have to replace them all. And that requires a huge expense of time.
Who would have thought losing weight could cause so many “lightweight” problems?
Real Problems
All of these small issues come into proper perspective when I observe the real problems happening all around us:
- Hurricane Harvey and the incredible heartache and devastation it has caused.
- The plight of persecuted Christians all over the world.
- And those precious children whose bellies bulge like a woman eight months pregnant. Because they’re starving or filled with parasites.
How dare I complain about anything? Anything! All of my problems are lightweight compared to those.
The Solution
So I’m going to do what Scripture teaches. “By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving” (Phil. 4:6), I’m going to make my requests known to God. I’m going to thank Him for His faithfulness and for my small problems. And I’m going to:
- Plead for those who bear the heavy burdens of grief and suffering.
- Intercede for those who feel too hopeless to pray for themselves.
- Pray for the lost who need the sure hope of salvation found only in Jesus.
I’m turning over my lightweight problems – and their heavy ones – to the only One who can truly help.
Would you like to join me?
“Live your faith. Pass it on.”
Author Jeanne Dennis
About Jeanne: An award-winning author of a dozen books, Jeanne Dennis hosts Heritage of Truth TV at https://jeannedennis.com. She is a commissioned Colson Fellow and Centurion. Through her writing, speaking, original music, and online ministry, she encourages families to live biblically in our spiritually confused culture.
