No fish...

It's early Saturday morning, and I have roughly 60 hours before our next weigh-in. I have to confess, right now I feel like the disciples who complained to Jesus when they said, "Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken nothing." I went to our church Thanksgiving dinner and said "no" to a hundred different food choices, opting for turkey, green beans, and carrots. Thursday we went to Mom's for Thanksgiving, and I had turkey, green beans, squash, and sugar-free Jello for desert. Ham, macaroni & cheese, spicecake muffins, and banana pudding were some of the dishes I passed on. Friday night we attended a 50th anniversary party with food galore, and I dutifully filled my plate with raw carrots, raw broccoli, boiled shrimp, cantaloupe, and strawberries. And no cake. I drink nothing but water now, with the occasional exception of 3/4 cup of low-fat milk per the food plan. I'm allowed to have a diet Coke a day, but I haven't indulged more than once a week.

 

So far this week I've added 3 hours of additional gym time to my workout schedule - today is 20 miles on the bike, plus my normal five miles of walking.

 

The clothes are getting bigger; the suit coats button comfortably again; the compliments keep rolling in.

 

And yet... the scale won't budge.

 

It didn't budge last week, either, until the very last day of the week. I was 313 Monday night; I'm still 313 Saturday morning.

 

Our PHC counselors are out of touch - it is the holiday weekend, after all. We can't expect for them to be there 24/7. So I am on my own to decide what to do... do I go back to a stricter diet that saw me lose 14, 7, and 7 pounds the first three weeks? Or do I stick with the plan I'm on and hope for the best?

 

I wonder what the disciples did that night out on the lake. Did they hold their nets differently? Cast them further? Move to different spots on the lake? Add bait? Row faster? Row slower? Speak more softly?

 

I think the point of the story is that, as long as they were trusting in their own efforts, nothing improved the situation.

 

Two things happened when Christ showed up that night of futile fishing, and I don't know which one is more relevant: one, that when Christ showed up, suddenly the fish did, too; or two, these professional fishermen had to humble themselves and admit that they were clueless as to why they were suddenly unable to do what they had done all their lives.

 

Hmm.....