The view from the sidelines

I am sidelined.

More of the same. Back issue. Not being patient. Becomes another back issue. Not being patient. Becomes a leg issue becomes a nerve issue becomes blah blah blah.

Not the point.

Here's the point: it is good to be sidelined. The view from the sidelines has shown me some amazing things:

1. It has slowed me down. I have had time to rest, to wake up, to sit on my back porch for hours at a time and read my bible, write in my journal, and read a good book. (Love Does, Bob Goff. Get it.)
2. It has given me a better view of the big picture. (note to self: this is a marathon, not a sprint. CHILL OUT.)
3. It has shown me that there are other things than the game that matter. There are the fans, the coaches, the grass, the air, the clouds. (note to self: Even when you are sidelined, the game continues. Therefore, it's not all about me.) 
4. My weight is not the only thing that matters. I matter more to God than anything I can say or do. He loves me right now, where I am, on the sidelines. He doesn't care what the score of the game is. He cares more about how I feel, who I love, and how I love. Not what I can do, not how I can impress Him, not what I can produce. (if you are like me, you might need to read #4 one more time.)

I would like to say with confidence that I am enjoying this "time out." I'm not. It feels like a penalty box and I am clawing my way to get out. But God is saying "Not yet, not yet." I don't know why not yet, but He's the coach, so I can't go till He says it's time. 

This is a process. Like most everything else in life. It's amazing how God is showing me that there really are not checklists when it comes to matters of the heart. I don't care if it's your friendship, your boyfriend or girlfriend, your addictions, your struggles, your loneliness, there is no checklist. And it's naive for me to think that there is. This process goes on because God wants to show me that He loves me every step of the way. In the valley as much as the mountain.

You might be on the sidelines like me. Or, you might be in the game and you're killing it right now. We'll sub in for each other soon enough. But when we do, know that God is with us, behind us, before us, and all around us.

He's tricky like that.

-Liz