#5 My Mom
Today is my mom’s birthday, so I thought it the perfect time
to start my inspiration series, beginning with her. Here is my favorite picture of my mom.
Isn’t she beautiful!
She was about 25 years old in this picture. And I tell you, she is just as beautiful
today. If I’ve learned one thing it's
that true beauty comes from within and my mom has a heart full of love. And I have always loved her. Neither one of us are perfect, but love
covers over our imperfections.
My mom inspires me to be fit. All throughout my life
I’ve witnessed her honest struggle with her weight. I’ve watched her loose up to 80 pounds, only
to gain it all back and then some. I’ve
watched her hopes rise as she tried a new pill or diet. I’ve watched her try exercise programs but be
unable to stick to them. As weight and
health choices added up over the years, I’ve watched her suffer from serious
medical conditions including a heart attack and quadruple bypass surgery. But thankfully, the Lord has brought her
through it all, and she is still here with us today.
Thinking back over her life, there were a lot of things
against her. She was a single mom and time
was not always on her side. She was so
busy working and taking care of everyone else, she put herself last. She had very little support (which is a key
component). Exercise was never a
consistent part of her life, and we lived in the south where fried food and butter were
(and still are) glorified. It happened
very innocently actually. Just being
busy, finding comfort in the wrong things, a little here, a little there, and
before she knew it, she was overweight and unhealthy.
And I had the potential to go down that very same road. You see my mom could follow a diet for a little
while, but that’s the thing about diets, they are viewed as a temporary change,
not a lifestyle change. Somehow (through
a series of events that I will share throughout my blogs) I learned to live and
embrace a healthy lifestyle. Has it
always been easy? NO! Do I have days
where I just want to be lazy? YES! Have I always been fit? NO! Do
I have the same struggles as everyone else?
YES! A healthy lifestyle is something I learned. I didn’t get it genetically. I wasn’t raised by a health-nut. I’m just a regular person. I’m my mom’s daughter. And she has always wanted the best for me, so for her I will be my best.
Here we are today:
She’s still beautiful.
She’s learned a lot, even in the recent years (especially since her
heart attack). And she still has her
struggles. But I love her just the way
she is! And she loves me! And she believes in me, and that gives me more strength than she will ever know.
And she inspires me as a coach. I want to be that support for others...that support that my mom never had. And here’s what she doesn’t know…often if I’m doing something in my workout that is very physically demanding I think of her, and I keep going. I do it for her. Because she never wants me to go through what she has had to go through. I do it because at this point in her life she can’t. In that moment, whether she knows it or not she gives me strength. Thank you, Mom, for being an inspiration.
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