If I could sum up 2018 in one word, it would be change. And it will probably be the same for 2019.
Probably the 1st thing I learned about change is that my ♥️ heart needs to be all in with the change that I'm making. My doctor asked me to give up gluten friendly foods. She had asked me to give up wheat 🌾 and 🥔 potatoes 3 years earlier, but my ♥️ heart wasn’t into giving up the wheat while I gave up the potatoes. This time my heart was more into becoming gluten-free; I found easier to adapt to the changes in my diet.
As the year progressed, I found change can be good, but it's hard, because change is like repenting. Changing my diet involved changing my ways. Another doctor also asked me cut down on my🧂sodium intake. I wasn’t in the habit of adding salt to my food I ate, but I had to eliminate the processed foods I did eat. No more 🌭 hot dogs . I was checking labels more throughly.
Change was also hard because I got depressed. Sometimes I felt like I no longer belonged at the table. I thought people didn’t want to involve me in their lunch plans because I was burden. Going to McDonalds was frustrating because the menu was very gluten friendly. But I found out if I asked the cashier to wrap it in lettuce, I could enjoy a 🍔 burger or other sandwiches. And 🌽 corn tortillas make for a great grilled cheese.
Change also involves forgiving. One Sunday as the sacrament tray was being passed, I took the tiny piece of bread 🍞 instead of the Cheerio. When I popped into my mouth I realized my mistake. I couldn’t put it back, so I just swallowed it. I found myself resolving not to do it again and forgiving myself for not paying attention to what I was doing.
Forgiveness is letting go and not taking offense. Forgiving was understanding why people didn’t involve me because they were also going through changes. Forgiveness involves a change of ♥️ heart. My friend suggested that I pray to have both my heart & a neighbor’s heart soften. Forgiving is repenting of a grudge. As I would scroll through Facebook posts, I found it best to ignore the angry, self righteous words and let that person have his or her opinion; it was okay to disagree on the Supreme Court nominee.
A lot changed in 2018; it wasn’t just my diet. There were changes at work and quite a lot of changes in my church. The news 📰 media always reports on various changes. And as I said earlier, it will probably be the same for 2019.
