Happy New Year!!!  It’s January again.  The “Get in Shape, Lose the Christmas Cookies Effect” month.  It’s actually the last day of January as I am writing this, so I’m a little late to get on board.  But you know, better late than never!

I’m deciding to begin this year a little differently, though.  Yes, those pants that used to be loose are tight.  Yes, the sleeves on the jean jacket are snug.   Dang.  But instead of going to shame, I’m going to blessing.

See, shame is never a great motivator anyway, and it certainly isn’t an agent of change.

Like a shot of caffeine in the morning, self-loathing may propel us onto the road of change, but we will find that hatred of self only leads us onto a never-ending cul-de-sac. Like being terrified by a number on the scale in the morning and vowing never to overeat again, a shot of shame may get me through to lunch...but never through to my freedom. Self-hatred, shame, and fear—though rampant in so many of our hidden worlds—are simply never going to be capable of creating or sustaining the growth we long for. Yet most of us try to use shame as our inner motivator. I know I have.

God’s heart for us is a “No Shame” zone.  I love that “there is therefore no condemnation for those who are Christ Jesus.”  (Romans 8:1) That means none.  Not even a little bit.  Not even over the areas that I am failing.  In the love of God, I can have mercy on my weak self because God does.  His mercies are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:23 ) Yay!

So, yes, there are many areas where I want to grow.  And in this area of my shape and size, I would like to shrink but I am not going to berate myself.  I’m choosing to thank God for my body and to bless it.  Thank you, God, for the gift of this body!  I am praying to see myself more completely, as God does.  Not only the inner workings of my heart, but the outward expression of my soul as experienced in my body.  Thank you, Jesus, for this amazing gift of having a body.  I choose to take care of it, of me.  To be kind in my words to myself.  God’s not mean.  I don’t want to be mean, either. Not even to myself.  I want to agree with God that all he has made is good.  He made me.  He made you.  There is goodness there.

Besides, shaming myself hasn’t worked in the past.  I am choosing today to lay down shame and pick up mercy.  In this moment, I am not going to self-condemnation but to asking God to help me believe more deeply that I am loved.  And then to live from the place of grace that enables me to choose life, to choose blessing, to choose love, and to choose HIM.

Oh, may all of our new year’s be filled with knowing his love more deeply!  It’s his love that changes everything.  And always for the better.