Is it time to go on a diet?

If you have known me for any length of time, then I have probably been on a diet at some point in our time of knowing each another. My weight has gone up and down over most of my life and being honest, it’s usually dependant on how life is treating me with either boredom or stress…

My lovely wife Jess worked, until very recently, with people who have issues with stress or anxiety. Over eating is often a symptom and she gave me a book which was due to help me with this issue.

I dutifully read it, and the basic premise, as far as I could understand, was to ‘stop worrying about weight, be kind to yourself, do what you like, don’t weigh yourself and don’t be that person who, every time a treat comes out, asks can I really have this?’

This seemed a great ‘diet book’ to me and I decided I would indeed be kind to myself, I wouldn’t look at stuff anymore and say ‘oh no, I couldn’t possibly’.

You can probably see where this is going….

Sadly, I’ve put on about a stone since adopting this policy… It’s a happy stone, but it’s still another stone!

Clearly, the advice needs to be moderated a little… yes, do be kind to yourself, but actually eating well and exercise are important too, I probably can’t take my eye off the ball completely.

Sometimes, life with God can have its similarities. If we don’t keep our eye on the ball, we may end up spiritually unfit. It’s very easy for us to say ‘oh it’s OK, life is a bit busy at the moment' or 'I’ll stop and pray for that later' or 'I’ll read my bible another day'.

I had the privilege of being with some of the 20s and 30s from a small group at St Paul’s on Sunday evening, and we had a chance that evening to simply stop what we were doing and draw near to God in whatever way worked best for us individually. A couple of them commented that they rarely give themselves time to do this – and there have been times in the last few years, months and even weeks - when I would have really echoed that comment.

I've been better at it in more recent years, mostly because it's something I've worked hard on to practice, but even now, I can't afford to take my eye off the ball.

I’ve committed to praying the daily office each day as I promised I would at ordination, but liturgy is not the way I always (although do sometimes) best draw close to God. Sometimes, even just over the last few weeks, I’ve ended up seeing this as something I need to ‘do’ rather than a way to better invest in a relationship. At those times I needed to stop and work out a way of engaging with Him better, I've not always remembered.

Each and every time over the last few years that I have drawn closer to God, and given him space to speak, it has a special and wonderful time. Often God will reveal things to me, often I’ll simply come away refreshed, almost always I'll think afterwards ‘why on earth do I not do that more often?’ – and then some time would pass (even just a few hours) and I’d get distracted.

But life always gets in the way, stuff always gets in the way. Bill Hyballs has written an excellent book called 'Too busy not to pray' - I think this is a really helpful idea, we need to be people who realise that it all depends on God, rather than on us! If you're an activist like me, this is not always easy!

We do of course need to allow ourselves time to do the things in life which pay the bills, which get food on the table, balance is important. We need to not allow ourselves to simply end up doing too much 'stuff' that we take our eyes off God. To be distracted, and here, for me at least, is also a way in which the enemy can attack. He gives us distractions and whispers to us that we simply don’t have the time, that the e-mails are too important for us to leave, or that we must spend more time researching that left handed sproggat we need. But these things are not important, this is a lie, nothing is more important. 

So this gives us a both/and - we need to pray protection, but we also need to put this into practice so we don't slip into bad habits.

When I was in my late teen's I had a little dog who I walked every day at the same time. I was blessed to live in the lakes and so every morning I would shout the dog and just walk in the fields by my house. He would, often without lead or direction follow faithfully beside me. I always did this before college and so was usually very tired. One particularly morning I picked up his lead, walked out the door and did my usual walk, which was about 20 minutes. When I returned home and walked up the drive I looked up at the lounge window only to see the dog staring back at me not looking amused. I had managed to go on the walk and forgotten the sole purpose of it. The dog.  

I expect you’re all much holier than I am, but just maybe, like me, you need a nudge that whilst you absolutely should be kind to youself, you also need to get on and do it. To not be too distracted by the walk, that you forget it’s purpose.

As for the diet, it’s time for me to start one again… but maybe tomorrow…

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (John 15:4)