“Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.” – Galatians 6:4-5 (NLT)
For a little over 3 months, I’ve been busy with changing my lifestyle: eat healthier, exercise regularly and get enough sleep. It’s not only because I want to lose weight, but mainly because I want to be able to feel better, do more and simply live longer.
During this journey, I regularly weigh myself and diligently write down the numbers to track my progress.
As the numbers slowly change, so do the sizes of my clothes (both tops and pants). I can’t help but feel more encouraged and happy when things start to get looser and looser and when I start to fit into old, smaller-sized, clothes. In fact, I’m looking forward to this change and consciously, deliberately try these old clothes on, waiting for the time when they will fit me comfortably again.
One day, I put my watch around my wrist as per usual before getting ready to leave the house and the moment I fastened it (it’s an Apple watch with a sports band so the “clasp” is just a metal pin pushed into a hole in the strap), I realized, to my complete surprise, that the watch was so loose that it slid off my wrist and dropped to the base of my hand.
Apparently I’ve lost enough weight to tighten the strap and move the pin to another hole.
It took me 10 kg (approx. 22 lbs) of weight loss, 2 shirt sizes (approx. 4″ or 10,16 cm) and nearly 2 jeans sizes (approx. 2″ or 5,08 cm) to shift that pin 0,7 cm to the left.
Of course this is normal because a watch strap only has so many holes. They’re not like clothes that have a wide range of sizes to accommodate various body types and sizes. It’s obvious that our wrists/forearms don’t expand or shrink as fast or as much as other parts of our body.
And this got me thinking.
Each of us is a part of the body of Christ. We all have different roles, positions, capacities, talents, tasks etc. Our journeys are different. Our “sizes” and how we expand or shrink vary.
My body had burned off 10 kg of fat before that watch strap pin could move 0,7 cm.
My torso/waist had shrunk 10 cm before my wrist did the same for “only” 0,7 cm.
It is crazy, illogical and utterly unreasonable to use my waist measurement on my wrist (not to mention physically impossible for a wrist to shrink that much).
It is crazy, illogical and utterly unreasonable to use someone else’s life or journey or success to measure my own.
“Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.” – Galatians 6:4-5 (NLT)
There is no need to compare myself with anyone because comparison will take me nowhere but down. I am responsible for my own conduct, my life, my journey. I am responsible for getting the job–what He’s entrusting me with–done and done well.
Maybe my life doesn’t seem as impactful as that of others I know. That’s okay. Maybe I’m the wrist, not the torso or the hips. Maybe it seems like I’m just doing the same old tedious thing day in, day out. Maybe I feel like I’m at a place where I’m unable to follow my passion and use my maximum potential.
Again: that’s okay.
I believe that when you’re doing what God calls you to do faithfully, then it is not meaningless or unnoticeable. Everything has its place in His kingdom and in His body. There is a reason why I’m doing what I’m doing now, and where I’m doing it.
“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NLT)
If my wrist had shrunk 10 cm along with my torso… oh wow. That’s super creepy! I probably won’t have wrists and my hands would be dangling off of a tiny piece of bone and meat and… ugh… let’s stop right there.
God has everything calculated. My wrist shrinking “only” 0,7 cm is perfect for my body. Me being me and doing what He calls me to do right now is perfect for His kingdom. That is my job well done.
Seasons will change. I know He will continue to take me further and higher; but as of now, even in my current situation, I will not compare myself to anyone and I will not use any measurement but God’s own specific plan for me. I will try my best to stay faithful with what He has entrusted me with and be grateful for everything.
Time to work towards shifting another 0,7 cm 😉
Wooow super sekali cikman, so blessed