Intentional Hope

“If you don’t sacrifice for what you want, what you want becomes the sacrifice.”

Have you ever had to sacrifice something temporarily in order to get something that you really wanted? Was the sacrifice you made worth it? What did you have to sacrifice? And if you had to do it all over again, would you do it? Sacrificing temporarily to get something you really want isn’t an easy thing to do. With today’s society being so fast pace it’s almost unrealistic to have to wait for something for such a long period of time. But this year has brought a whole new meaning to the importance of sacrificing and waiting. Not being able to go many places and do many things for the safety and protection of our lives and families because of Covid-19. Having to make temporary sacrifices and putting many of the travels plans we have on hold so that we’ll be able to do many things in the future when everything settles.

Those sacrifices haven’t been easy but the safety and wellbeing of people makes it worth it. This year has been a year of major sacrifice for me. I set a goal at the beginning of the year to live a healthier lifestyle and lose weight. I live in Louisiana so there are so many good reasons to not eat healthy. All the amazing food options makes it hard to not give in to temptation. Overall this has been my most healthiest and consistent year ever. It hasn’t been perfect and some days I fell short but I have never stopped getting back up and starting again. I’ve passed the halfway mark of my weight loss goal and I am pushing to meet my total goal by the end of the year. I’ve been working out three days a week with my husband who is my trainer and workout partner. The process has been hard but everyday I remind myself of “Why I started,” which I talked about “Remember Why You Started,” in my last blog post. When you understand the purpose behind what you do, it gives you a greater reason to finish strong and push when things get hard.

I remind myself daily that eating better and working out isn’t something I’m doing just to meet a goal but this is a lifestyle change that I am trying to create. I desire to live longer and have the energy to be present for my family and I truly want to be the best version of myself. That is the true purpose behind what I am doing. By focusing on getting healthier and losing weight it has allowed me to have the energy and focus I need to truly accomplish another goal I recently set with keeping my oldest daughter active, in hopes that she will get better and defying the odds of her recent diagnosis.

It has been a month since my daughter was diagnosed with Atypical Neuroaxonal Dystrophy, and what a month it has been. Hard is an understatement because my whole reality and life has changed. I’m realizing the importance of being more intentional everyday with keeping her engaged along with my other kids in homeschool and also keeping her active with riding her adaptive bike everyday so that she can get the physical activity she needs to get stronger and one day walk again. I know how much exercising can help change a persons life, so if I have to make the temporary sacrifices everyday to ensure that she lives longer, and in hopes that this will change the future for her, i’m all in. Whatever it takes has been my mindset when it comes to making daily sacrifices because there is so much purpose behind what I am doing.

The purpose behind the temporary sacrifice I am making everyday pushes me to keep going. All the sacrifice and the pain is worth me fighting through if I can have the things I truly want in the end. I choose to sacrifice the temporary comforts of today if it means that I can have a better future.

I just want to encourage you to keep pushing, don’t be afraid to make the temporary sacrifices for the things that you really want. One day you’ll look back and be so glad you did. There was a scripture verse that encouraged me so much last week from 1 Corinthians 9:26 it says, ” So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.” This verse challenged me to allow purpose to fuel me and push me forward. It encouraged me to remember why I started, and to be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to get me to where I desire to be.

Thanks for reading! I hope this challenged and encouraged you. What’s a temporary sacrifice you had to make? And was the sacrifice worth it? Share your story I would love to hear. Comment below.

“Don’t give up what you want most for what you want now.”