My Journey to Transformation
I am Kathleen Jeffers, and I am on a Journey…not just any journey…but a Journey to transformation. 8 months ago I was not the person I am today… I had a disease…
My disease was different than any other…no one sent cards…saying praying …everyone could see it, but no one acknowledged it. It is a disease that was slowly killing me…but no one, including myself were doing anything about it.
What was it…obesity…When I first looked at my doctors chart and saw those words…not just obesity, but extremely obese…I was offended. I never looked at myself as obese…that is such a nasty word…. Fat Maybe…but more like big boned…or pleasantly plump as my husband used to say…but never obese. I knew I was over weight…but I did not feel it was a real problem.
A year ago my husband…who weighed 380 pounds at the time looked at me and told me…we need to loose weight. I, who was over 270 pounds looked at him and said…what every good women says…”You go ahead honey…I will catch up with you later…You can do it!” So he did…He started to exercise every night on an elliptical…Every night he would ask, ”Do you want to join me?” Every night I would say…”NO”
See I was not ready. I had lost weight before….lots of weight. An amazing thing happened…whenever I lost weight. No matter how much weight I lost, I magically gained it all back and more…Kind of like a bonus! I was not going to work hard to have that happen again. Then, God started to work on my heart. He used a book called "Slow but Sure!" Through this book, about another person that lost weight and kept it off, I was able to see that I could do it.
I now had the desire but no idea how. Exercise certainly did not appeal to me as it did my husband. Although, at this time my husband was closing in on loosing 50 pounds, and still going with just exercise. I was on face book and I saw a message from my niece, Fawn. She was saying she was going to work with this lady Audra and help her loose over 100 pounds. As soon as I saw that I started to cry. I am too late. I wrote as fast as I could to Fawn saying, ”What about me? I need to loose weight to. Will you work with me?” She wrote back and said “Aunt Kathleen, I just happen to be arriving from LA to visit grandma next week…lets talk!” So we did. We sat out on my moms deck and she told us her plan. She made us look her right in the eye and make a commitment to her…As I looked her in the eye and said “I will do this!” I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The next day she was at my house with garbage bags. She was cleaning out my cupboards, my fridge, my freezer and every other hiding spot I had in the house. She left none of my comfort foods.
Let me tell you, I felt like I was stripped of all my security. I was lost. She left me with one box of whole wheat noodles, one jar of sauce and fruit and vegetables. As soon as she left, I stood at my cupboards and cried! Looking back now, I thank God she was strong enough to do that. She did it not to a stranger, but to her Aunt Kathleen! Sometimes…we have to be stripped of all of our securities before God can do a great work in us….
I now had the desire but no idea how. Exercise certainly did not appeal to me as it did my husband. Although, at this time my husband was closing in on loosing 50 pounds, and still going with just exercise. I was on face book and I saw a message from my niece, Fawn. She was saying she was going to work with this lady Audra and help her loose over 100 pounds. As soon as I saw that I started to cry. I am too late. I wrote as fast as I could to Fawn saying, ”What about me? I need to loose weight to. Will you work with me?” She wrote back and said “Aunt Kathleen, I just happen to be arriving from LA to visit grandma next week…lets talk!” So we did. We sat out on my moms deck and she told us her plan. She made us look her right in the eye and make a commitment to her…As I looked her in the eye and said “I will do this!” I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The next day she was at my house with garbage bags. She was cleaning out my cupboards, my fridge, my freezer and every other hiding spot I had in the house. She left none of my comfort foods.
Let me tell you, I felt like I was stripped of all my security. I was lost. She left me with one box of whole wheat noodles, one jar of sauce and fruit and vegetables. As soon as she left, I stood at my cupboards and cried! Looking back now, I thank God she was strong enough to do that. She did it not to a stranger, but to her Aunt Kathleen! Sometimes…we have to be stripped of all of our securities before God can do a great work in us….
Then started the change! We totally changed how we ate, how we exercised, and what we did. We blogged on the internet and followed her instructions perfectly. Let me tell you this was a hard time to try to loose weight. My mother, who to me was the most Godly, loving mom in the world, and my best friend, was dying. I would go over to her house and there would be literally tables stacked high of goodies and food that wonderful people brought over to comfort us. I never touched one of them. When I start to get discouraged. I look back at that time and say, "If I could do it then, when my heart was breaking…then I can do it now!"
I started to loose weight…My husband and I became a team…we learned how to encourage one another…we started to exercise together and we started to love each other in a new way! When we went to Disney this fall with our girls…they had to ask us to slow down. We were accomplishing our dream of being in shape. We were leading the healthy lifestyle.
It was great…
I loved having my husband work with me but I had a burden for other ladies who I wanted to help… I knew just who I wanted in my group. I did not need the holy spirit to tell me. I was in charge. I invited them all and would you believe not one of them came! No one came…accept one lady…a friend of my mothers who I met at the gym. She and I met for six weeks We prayed for six people in our group and every week none of my friends showed up. I used to call them, hound them, and write on face book because I knew they needed help...but they never came. See God had other plans…when my mom's friend went to Florida for a month I gave up my idea of a class. I said this is a waste of time. I am not giving up time I could be working for nothing.
But God had other plans. He wanted to chose who he wanted in my group. He wanted me to give it over to Him. It was only by me letting go that God could work. He started to bring the people that he wanted in my life. They just started appearing. I would be working at the gym and one lady asked me to please work with her on losing weight. Another God brought to me at the pool. she wanted to lose weight. My friend came back from vacation and I called her and told her we were ready to start up again…the first week as we were praying I stopped and looked Janette in the eye and said, ”Look around! We have exactly 6 people here! " I realized at that minute that our ways are not His ways. He handpicked our group of ladies. He knew who needed to be together and formed us into a family. He has blessed us every week.. We have not only lost weight, 40 pound as a group in 5 weeks, but we are growing spiritually and emotionally.
But God had other plans. He wanted to chose who he wanted in my group. He wanted me to give it over to Him. It was only by me letting go that God could work. He started to bring the people that he wanted in my life. They just started appearing. I would be working at the gym and one lady asked me to please work with her on losing weight. Another God brought to me at the pool. she wanted to lose weight. My friend came back from vacation and I called her and told her we were ready to start up again…the first week as we were praying I stopped and looked Janette in the eye and said, ”Look around! We have exactly 6 people here! " I realized at that minute that our ways are not His ways. He handpicked our group of ladies. He knew who needed to be together and formed us into a family. He has blessed us every week.. We have not only lost weight, 40 pound as a group in 5 weeks, but we are growing spiritually and emotionally.
Ladies if I can leave you with two things today, It would be these two things. First, God can use you in a mighty way no matter what size you are, if you are willing to do His will. Second, If you are at a point in your life that you are ready to make a change…seek help. For years I struggled on my own! It is so much easier with a group of ladies working towards the same goal. Together we can accomplish anything God set before us.
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