It seemed harmless enough to me, after all, it was a game, an electronic game to be sure, but a game. When our son, Andrew, received his Wii Fit for Christmas I never considered how this tightly wired bit of technology would impact me… at a very personal level.
Within days of the Wii Fit being unwrapped I was invited to participate in a body evaluation. Through a series of questions, tests and analysis I was given my Body Mass Index (BMI) and a descriptor of my present weight/height.
A wiser man would have performed such a process without another individual in the room. But not me… Overweight is what flashed across our television screen. There was an awkward silence.
I could feel my face flush. My mind raced to a place of rationalized safety. You know, the place where we can exist in comfortable denial. A place where the facts have no bearing on reality. A place where we dismiss others but welcome ourselves.
Now, nearly five months later, and roughly 25 pounds less… my BMI shows normal. Yes indeed… I am thrilled with normal.
I didn’t spend a dime on a club membership, I saved the expense of a diet supplement, and I wasn’t a contestant on “Biggest Loser.”
I just knew that if I wanted to be “normal,” and in this case I did, then I would have to be willing to make some personal changes. Smart changes. Honest changes. Difficult changes.
Mary cheered… she didn’t coach… for 140 days and counting.
And as I’ve done my best to live outside the grasp of denial, rationalization and self-deception, I’ve begun to expose far more than just my tendency to overeat. I’ve been drawn to new levels of candor, reflection, confession and grace. My BMI has cast a light into the darkness, and the cockroaches are scrambling.
At the end of 2009, Andrew’s Wii Fit called it like it calculated it. Overweight.
And when it did… it started something deeper, richer, more powerful and more compelling in my life that has nothing to do with my BMI.
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” ~ James 5:16
No rationalization. No excuses. Change… honest change.
{ 0 comments… add one now }