One Saturday morning, I awakened to a quiet home with no one there but me. The Mr. was out of town for the weekend, and I had the place all to myself.
What to do? What to do?
I rummaged through the tote bag on the floor next to the bed until I felt my 4×5 compact Bible. With two pillows propped behind my back, I sat up in bed to begin the day with some reading. I flipped through the book’s pages and rested on the story of a young, handsome shepherd boy named David who took on a menacing, defiant giant named Goliath. I like to call this a mis-match made in heaven.
Goliath was huge. The bible notes his stature as “six cubits and a span.” I’ve learned that one cubit converts to between 16 and 18 inches and a span to about five inches. So this dude likely stood somewhere around 8 ½ and 9 ½ feet tall. Wow. I’d certainly call that a giant, wouldn’t you? Goliath wore heavily armored clothing and carried a javelin, a spear and a shield. Clearly, he came to fight.
To the contrary, one would wonder exactly what David came to do. David’s stature isn’t mentioned in this story (1 Samuel 17), but in the prior chapter he’s described as ruddy (which speaks to his complexion) with beautiful eyes and handsome. Maybe his pretty eyes had great vision, as well, but I’m not sure what his complexion and cuteness would profit him on a battle field.
Nevertheless, he stood before this giant of a man, wearing no armor and carrying no weapons other than a sling shot and “five smooth stones” he plucked from a stream.
Seriously?
And this is what he planned to use as his weapon? Now David was either super brave or ultra crazy.
If this were a movie scene I’d say, “oh poor David. He has no chance in heaven of surviving this altercation.” I mean I wouldn’t expect him to last a second in this match. But David had help from heaven that gave him all the chance on earth that he needed. Thankfully, for him, this story is nothing if it isn’t extraordinary.
Not only did this shepherd boy stare down a cocky, crazy giant man, but he killed him with one good point-and-shoot from his little slingshot.
Reading this story reminded me of a giant in my own life. Remember I told you:
…only two things have stood in the way of a healthier, back-to-where-I-was-four-years-ago, me – exercise and SUGAR.
Well guess which one is my Goliath. You guessed it. SUGAR.
My giant, the sugar monster
I’ve had a sweet tooth for years. As a kid I’d sometimes sneak into the kitchen in the middle of the night in search of one of three things: milk (whole milk at that time), bread (white bread, another form of sugar) or sugar (sweet treats or just plain sugar, whichever was available). And candy was always available – either from grandma, from school or from the candy lady at church. Those were the good ol’ days.
Anyway, I had my sweet tooth tamed for a few years. Then life happened: death, marriage, moving, corporate reorganization, threatened layoff, new job, new manager, new responsibilities and new stresses.
Slowly, my weekend frozen yogurt treat stopped doing the trick. My sugar cravings became insatiable and my innocent sweet tooth burgeoned into a full blown sugar obsession. Sugar became my confidante. It wrapped loving arms around me – comforted me when I was low and celebrated with me when I was happy.
Reading my bible that Saturday morning showed me it was time to face my giant.
The battle
David went to stare down a giant with every intention of winning. He wasn’t relying on his stature or his weapon for victory. More than his sling and his stones, David depended on his little bit of faith in a great big GOD. A God he trusted would be there in battle with him – facing the giant and providing the power he needed to defeat him.
And he was right. David slew the giant with one shot. Wow! Then he stood over said giant and sliced his head off at the neck with the giant’s own sword. Wow times two!
So that’s it, I thought. That Saturday morning I made a date to face a giant of my own – the following Monday. Hey, why spoil a perfectly good weekend, already in progress, right?! 😉
Next week, I’ll tell you what happened that Monday morning. In the meantime, what about you? Last week, we vowed to get back up again, and I believe you did it. What did you get up to face? What’s your giant? I’ve put mine on notice. Now it’s your turn.
P.S. As you may have guessed, I left out a boatload of details from the story of David and Goliath. I could have gone on forever, but for the sake of time and space, I tried to scurry on to the point. If you’ve never read the story and wish to do so, you can start here for a little back story, then read the story here.
#52weekstoBE
#becompletelyyou
Wow! So timely. I be been away from the blog for a while and oh, how I’ve missed it. The struggle is real against our giants, but we always have to remember we have a giant God! My giants: exercise and eating habits, but now I’m at a point where I have to do something, so last week I joined a gym, and I’ve been consciously been making better choices in the grocery store. I haven’t given up sugar completely, but I am increasing fruits, vegetables, and water, while decreasing processed foods and artificial ingredients. We have to be mentally, spiritually, and physically fit, so we can defeat any kind of giant life throws at us, and we all know the enemy never takes a vacation. Thanks, Monica for doing what you do to encourage and inspire us!
Deborah, you are so, so right. We are always ill equipped to face our giants, but with God we can face and conquer anything that stands before us. I’m glad this post blessed you. It used to be I’d be too ashamed to share something so simple, giving it all the power. But now, I know other women are going through the same or similar struggles. We want to be healthy, but sometimes getting there is a challenge. So I’m determined to do my part and hopefully encourage others by sharing my stories. I’m so glad you’re joining me.
Thanks for sharing Monica, I thought is was just me with this all out sugar addiction/obsession. (Facebook has not helped with my obsession with many of my friends sharing delectable dessert recipes all day). I start fresh each day saying that I will not consume any of my favorite sugary treats. Inevitably, by the end of the day I find myself defeated by my giant once again. The defeat leads to discouragement, which leads to me reaching for more of my sweet comfort foods. I write this post just as I’ve finished devouring a bag of Gummi Peach Rings. Thanks for helping me find renewed strength and faith when facing my giant. I put SUGAR on notice! You will not have you way with me!
“The defeat leads to discouragement, which leads to me reaching for more of my sweet comfort foods.” Tenice, you described the vicious cycle perfectly. I’ve been on that roller coaster too many times. I am just so ecstatic to see that I am not alone. What many don’t realize is that sugar really is addictive. It’s crazy! We’ll just have to support and encourage each other. I’m down if you are. 🙂
I’m down! As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. (Proverbs 27:17).
I really enjoyed reading this Monica. And I appreciate you sharing your giant. For me, one of my giants is an unhealthy lifestyle. All during college I was so busy that although I didn’t eat much, what I did eat was all junk or greasy on-the-go food and I hardly had the time to get in exercise. Starting on July 1st I began a fitness challenge with a group of my friends and then on my own I challenged myself to really trying to eat healthier, and to stretch myself to not have bread, dairy or sweets. I have my cheat day once a week, but other than that it is going quite well. Throughout the time I’ve had to do lots of praying for strength and through that I’ve been reminded of why I wanted to do these challenges in the first place and it helps me to realign, keep the faith and move forward. It is great to see that we are all in this together!
Like I always say, Courtney, first don’t be too hard on yourself. I don’t know too many college students who eat as well as they should. But you sound like you’re on the right track now. I agree. It is SO WONDERFUL to see we’re all in this together. A community… supporting and encouraging each other. That’s what it’s all about. Keep up the good work, and make sure you share your successes with us, too.