Stepping out

All is quiet at the moment as both boys sleep. They are both better - with just the residue cough and mucus still hanging around. For the first night in weeks, Elisha slept through till 5am. I was very grateful for a full nights sleep.

In the last few weeks I have done something quite bold and chosen to 'step out' of my comfort zone. I wanted to find a way to connect more with people around me in this neighbourhood. I have been wanting to lose weight for awhile, but have lacked motivation. I thought of joining a weight loss group but life is still too unpredictable with Elisha, let alone probably not being able to afford it. I know that it is much easier to lose weight with others. So I thought I might try and start my own.

I thought that this idea might just come to me and I would never get the guts to do anything about it, but somehow I did. I letterboxed the nearest 40 houses to me, with a letter asking others to join me on a weight loss journey. I got 5 responses. So on Wednesday nights at 8pm a few ladies come round to my house for about an hour and we chat about weight loss issues, set goals, encourage one another, keep a record of our weight and some of us are starting to walk together.

It's a bit of work on my part, doing research and preparing handouts and things to chat about during the night, but I am pumped about it. The dynamics of the group work really well and everyone is interacting . Having something in common to work towards together means the group has jumped over some of the inevitable barriers we face when we first get to know people. I think having to be vulnerable with one another (like others knowing what we weigh) means there is an element of trust built into the group which would not be there otherwise. The fact that we all live so close (in the same block) means endless possibilities of sharing each others lives.

I give all thanks God for knitting this together and giving me the idea in the first place. He has gone before me and just when I was getting discouraged with the group, thinking it wasn't going to work, he surprised me with something so beautiful beyond what I could have imagined for a first meeting! I am so thankful for his faithfulness. He has given Adriaan and I a vision of what our lives could look like when we live authentically with those around us. He has opened up a door to see some of that vision unfold. That this could be the seeds of God doing something great in this small community of everyday people.