DAY 263 Peaches & Lions

Hello Journal & Friends,

In the spring of 2009, we planted a dwarf peach tree in the backyard of our new home. Frosty (yes, we named him) was busy growing, putting down roots, and making himself at home, and only produces 3 luscious peaches that first year.

This year, we were looking forward to a "big" crop. Then spring came and we thought we had lost our new little blossoms. Frosty had survived a cold winter, only to be hit in with a couple of cold snaps after the new buds had come out.

A couple of days ago, MyGuy was outside removing the Christmas lights from Frosty (they are used to ward off the deadly frosts that hit in early spring), and he looked closely. And there, hidden protectively in little curls of leaves, were the beginnings of new life... peaches! Almost 20 of them!

Frosty went through a rough time, but he survived. He would not be refused... he's a tough little tree.

I feel like Frosty... like I have been going through a long, tough "winter", and just when I think it's over, I get hit with a cold snap that smacks me down again.

But like Frosty, I won't be denied. I refuse to be barren, to not grow.

I have lost much of the progress I had gained, exercise and strength-wise. But I have decided that if I did it once, I CAN DO IT AGAIN.

I refuse to stay discouraged. 

I refuse to keep thinking "it's not fair".

I refuse to lose my passion.

I refuse to allow this to derail me.

While listening to some Keith Green music a few days ago, a thought struck me: I am doing this backwards. 

I have been so flattened physically lately, that I felt like I was losing my passion, my determination, my joy. I was struggling with "it's not fair"... with "is it too late?"  I was waiting to feel better physically, to get my "mojo" back.

That is backwards!!

Passion comes from within, from deep inside, where our "chooser" lives,  in our heart of hearts, not from outside circumstances.

Nothing, no one, no temporary condition will take this journey from me. 

I may not "feel" it right now, but I HAVE IT. It is mine... I will not let go of my hold on it.

I may be weak as a kitten on the outside right now, but inside I am a Lion! Hear me roar! 

From Dr Phil's book: "Change must come totally from within you. This is where the real power to create lasting results is found."

My verse for today: "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree... They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green..."

My quote for today: "We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread.  They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." --Viktor Frankl

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta

=^..^=