And The Waters Rose

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads."

Such a fun story we tell during Christmas time. It's the season we all look forward to. Stories of family shenanigans are told as the patriarch cuts the ham or turkey. We laugh and usually keep a dry eye. 

But we live in Southeast Louisiana and Christmas isn't the time of year for story telling. Our stories come from the summers where we fear hurricanes and floods. Sometimes we laugh at how incredulous the situation we were in was. Sometimes we shed a tear as we remember coming home from an evacuation and seeing a line left by water above our doorknobs or from seeing boats and cars flipped over in the middle of the road. Our anxiety rises every August and September as hurricane season peaks and we wait for the dreaded news that a new system has or is forming in the Gulf and we wait with anticipation for its name. 

7 years ago the Lord told me to go to Baton Rouge. I would go to school and develop who I was and the love and experiences I had there would influence who I was to become when I moved back home to New Orleans. I fell in love with Baton Rouge. That city enveloped my heart and infused itself into my soul. 

Now I have to watch it flood. I have to try and contact my best friends daily to see if they're standing or swimming. It's terrifying. 

Unlike Katrina and other hurricanes, this time we didn't have notice. We usually can watch and wait to see what will happen, but a serious low pressure system sat about my heart city and dumped over 20" of water in less than 48 hours causing all the rivers near by and in surrounding cities to rise quickly past their flood stage and out into the cities, neighborhoods, streets, businesses...everything. 

It was like Katrina part two, but sudden and unexpected. This flooding has brought back so many memories and anxiety for those of us who experienced Katrina. 

During any severe flooding crisis, we lose touch with family members and loved ones. Cell phones were just emerging in 2005 for Katrina and every now and then a text would go through and we'd know someone we cared about was okay. Today it's the same thing, but nothing is going through. Thankfully wi-fi is a thing now and Facebook is a new communication for us. 

Every time I see the pictures of the waters surrounded my old stomping grounds of my heart city, my eyes burn and my heart aches. Every time a friend posts a picture of the water coming into their house or of floating furniture, my gut clenches. All the same feelings I felt as I got an email from a friend letting me know they were okay in 2005. 

During Katrina, we didn't have any of this. The not knowing was the worst part, and today knowing is the worst part. 

Living in Southeast Louisiana is usually full of laughter, snowballs, good food, late nights, and friends we haven't met yet. 

I can't explain to those that have not experienced a hurricane like Katrina why every time I see pictures of my heart city I fight back tears. Sure this isn't our first rodeo, but that doesn't make this any easier. Water is a beautiful power we have here on earth. It can heal and it provides sustenance for all life. But then it can always wash away roads in a matter of minutes, infiltrate homes and mold sheet rock one inch of water at a time causing massive damage to homes. Not just houses, homes. 

Pray for Baton Rouge. Pray for all the people that have to do this again but in a city they had moved to to escape devastation from in the first place eleven years ago. Pray for the first time home owners and the newly weds that will lose their wedding memorabilia because the water came in and they tried to put it on top the stove but the water kept rising. Pray for the people stuck on the roads and spending the time in their cars waiting for rescue because there's water in every direction. Pray for the waters to recede. Pray for a few days without any rain. Pray. Just pray. 

It's like our hearts wither as the water rises. We are helpless, yet not hopeless. Keep praying. Keep believing. We did it once with the help of our dear Baton Rouge, and New Orleans will help Baton Rouge to have hope and believe. We will rebuild. 

I Overcame Temptation

Today I decided to fast. It went so well that now I'm planning on trying to do it once a week.

I did a lot of research and it's a really helpful thing for people with insulin resistance (which I have)!  Having IR makes it super difficult to lose weight and super easy to gain weight...the bad kind (fat). My body is literally biologically engineered to gain fat. So finding out intermittent fasting could HELP me become more insulin sensitive and lose weight more like a normal person was so incredible!  I didn't have expectations but the Lord started blowing me away with this first glance of the tip of the ice burg.

It taught me how bad of a habit I have to eat first think later and how codependent I am on food. At my office, people wanting to get in good with the doctors bring treats. Yesterday, panera bread pastry ring, dunkin donuts, and cake balls. WHAT?! Well I gave in....a couple times. I felt some unidentified twinge in my gut. That twinge was later on identified as the Holy Spirit. Straight up conviction. Not to get too holy rolling here...but I didn't feel guilt. I didnt feel shame...I didnt even feel excitement for the indulgence. But as I finally spoke to God again after another binge on sliders and fries with a sprinkle of justification, He told me that hesitation I felt was His conviction and I had to start practicing discipline in order to begin overcoming temptation. Yes, you can say it, "ouch!" Holy smack. So I began the fast.

I found out I eat because of time not hunger. Hunger has been the enemy for so long...and today showed me it doesn't have to be. It might not be a friend but it's like an assistant. Dependable, reliable, consistent....and I prayed through some of it too.

When I came home I ate a small portion of spaghetti, peas, and a cupcake. Not a single twinge of guilt or shame. I had the urge (still do) to continue to eat. But I asked God to make the food I ate satisfying. To make the cupcake just enough (probably way more than needed) sugar to satisfy me. To make the spaghetti provisional as opposed to just tastey. And to make the peas filling. And everything was extra delicious. I could taste all the spices and flavors...that's probably just because I was super hungry

But the craziest thing is, I didn't feel a bit  different at the end of the day. I was hungry, my head hurt, and I was tired. Which just tells me there's something wrong with what I'm putting in my body if it feels the same when I don't put anything in.

C.S. Lewis in "Mere Christianity" tells us that Christ is the only person to have overcome temptation 100% of the time, but that you only know how hard temptation is to overcome once you've overcome it. I don't know that I've ever overcome it. That I've ever been completely faithful to a diet, a change,  or to that twinge of conviction. But today I did. I let God back in just a little and He did something I never thought I could do.

It's like I won today. It's like we won today. I beat temptation today. And that is the biggest step I have ever taken.