I am over 50 years-old now and have been reflecting on the past a lot lately. One such reflection came when I was exercising the other day.
It occurred to me that when I am 60 years-old (if God should grant me to live more years), I will thank the person I am now for her efforts to live healthier.
Because I am taking time to practice good health habits now, then my 60 year-old self will be more energetic and vibrant than she would have been if I did not do it.
Then I thought about you. Imagine yourself 10 years from now. What would your future self say to you as thanks for what you are doing now to help her/him live a healthier life?
The following letter is what I imagined your future self would say to you in gratitude:
Dear Me (10 years ago):
Wow, God has brought us a mighty long way, hasn’t he? I remember how you were back then. You experienced many disappointments. You even thought about giving up at times. But I am so glad that you didn’t. Way to go! Because you didn’t give up, I don’t have to look back on my life with regret and think “I wish I’d done it.” Instead, I have the satisfaction of saying, “I am glad I did it!”
I am so glad that you listened to God’s voice inside of you, telling you that you could do better. You believed Him when He said that He would be with you every step of the way. And God proved Himself faithful to His word.
I am thankful that you decided not to keep settling for low energy and emotional moods swings. You realized that it was time to wake up – that this is your life and you are not getting another one. So you figured you might as well make the most of the one you have. You decided to live for God’s glory. How much better is my life now because of your decision! I feel empowered to do things now that I never would have considered before.
Because of you, I am facing my fears, confident in my future. I am no longer bound by my past. I no longer beat myself up for past mistakes nor nurse past hurts. I have adopted the apostle Paul’s attitude as my own:
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14).”
Now, I am excited about the even greater future God has for me. I thank you that you were willing to cooperate with Him so that the future I am living in now could be birthed. It wasn’t always easy, but you took one day at a time, holding on to God’s unchanging hand.
You decided that working through each challenge was worth it. You considered the example Jesus Himself gave as to why it would be worth it:
“A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world (John 16:21).”
In looking back, the challenges you felt in acting outside of your comfort zone don’t even matter now that I am enjoying a better body and level of health. I am so glad that you decided “Enough is enough” for my sake.
Many people don’t even consider the future in the present. But that isn’t you. Instead, you stood up for me. You became my champion. You looked back to when you were a teenager and saw that the years between then and now passed by in the blink of an eye. So in faith, you recognized that the age I am now was coming and you needed to do what you could to ensure I had the best future possible.
How can I ever thank you? I think I know. I am going to pay it forward. I am going to honor you by continuing to do the good work that you started. Plus, I think we both show appreciation to God for our body by taking time to take care of it.
Once again, thank you and keep on going. Don’t you dare quit! The quality of my life depends on it. The time is going to pass anyway. Don’t psyche yourself out by telling yourself that it is taking too long or what you are doing isn’t working. It is working, just as surely as a seed under the ground grows, even though you can’t see what it is doing yet.
Don’t keep allowing the enemy to take things away from you. Most of all, don’t let him keep stealing your peace of mind!
You will get to be my age soon enough. If you stay the course, then I can tell you confidently that your effort will be worth it.
I love you! Keep on loving yourself as God loves you.
Love,
Your future self (older and MUCH wiser)
Be blessed in Health, Healing, and Wholeness,
— Kimberly Taylor
Take Back Your Temple
http://www.takebackyourtemple.
P.S. Are you ready to live a “no regrets life when it comes to your health and weight? Let the Take Back Your Temple program be your guide. God’s way is change from the inside out and once you are changed His way, you are never the same!
Click here to learn more about the Take Back Your Temple program
I turn 40 on July 5th and the Lord has been telling me “enough is enough, its time” Thank you for writing this letter. The Holy Spirit keeps telling me to stay the course. Looking back over the last twenty years, I want to say sorry to myself for emotionally eating myself 100 pounds overweight. I say no to diabetes, high blood pressure and heart attacks. I say yes to good health and joy. In ten years my future self will thank me.
She sure will, Danel! I am believing God with you for the manifestation.
If the Lord allows me to live another 10 years (I am going on 72) I know it will be better then then in the past 20 years or so because I am taking better care of me. I am dealing with many health issues that curtail what I can do, but I am doing more of what I can do. That is a blessing. Thank you for the encouragement and reminders of taking care of ourselves no matter where we are in life.
Hi Kim!
This was such an awesome idea! Thank you for putting into words a lot of what I have been thinking. I mean, each day I get down about not seeing good enough results, or not believing that my “sacrifices” are getting me anywhere, or not believing that the physical pain my body is in will be lessened the more I get healthier, there is a small God-inspired voice inside, that keeps telling me, “but each tiny little thing now WILL help me in the long run”! This letter from my future self justifies my little voice, and makes me want to shout praise that it’s there, I’m here, and I’m moving forward! Thanks for the motivation I found in your article! Have a blessed day!
God bless your willingness to reach out and bless us!! Your light shines so bright in my dark places. I was studying about temptation with food and got my breakthrough. Having a “food plan early” in my day is “my way out”, because God is faithful and he provides a “way out” for us to withstand and endure temptation. I was making the mistake by waiting until I was depleted to make a healthier food choice. After praising God. I read your article. Boy, did this shine more light on an once dark place. Glory be to God. Your encouraging words blessed me!
Wow! Happy Belated Birthday Mrs Kim! Thank you for inspiring me to do better and be better for the glory and honor of God. You are a true inspiration to me. May God continue to bless you. I celebrate with you!
Thanks Kimberly! I so appreciate your words of encouragement.
Even though I am not where I want to be in terms of health, I know
I am on my way, Glory be to God!
Kim, this is so beautiful. It made me smile and tear up. Of course I have thought about it principally; who doesn’t?
But you said it so well, and with the tweak of perspective that gives that extra light–the extra nudge. Thank you!
Happy birthday, Kimberly! You wrote a wonderful letter. It has inspired me to do the same. I’ll be celebrating my 57th birthday next week so the timing of your article is perfect. I pray that 10 years will see all of us living a healthier life with our Lord.
Thank you so much! That was very encouraging reminder, I am 27 and have struggled all my life with my weight. I really relate to your story and I’m glad I decided to do this program! It truly is, different then any other program I’ve done before. God bless you!