Eve's curse

In my Monday night Ladies' Bible study we've been reading about Eve in John MacArthur's "Twelve Extraordinary Women". Today I was working on my homework for Monday night. Many of the questions are directed towards learning from Eve.

MacArthur argues that Eve was a very beautiful woman and, despite not having a lot of information about her, we do know that she was the pinnacle of God's creation. She was created to help (not in a demeaning way) and to be protected and lead. She was easily deceived. She was cursed with not just painful childbirth, but also a longing to be, or usurp, her husband.

I think it all boils down to the fact that, in her flesh, she desired to be like God - and that was her curse. This same curse has been passed down to all of the daughters of Eve - including me. My greatest struggle is submission to the Lord. Over and over in my homework lesson I saw the Lord pointing out to me that what I most lack is submission to Him.

His load is light and His burden is easy! At my Thin Within meeting on Thursday my buddy and I talked about our struggles to add some kind of "law" to His grace. I admitted that a huge temptation for me is to add counting calories to the 0-5 eating. I have to choose to not have a constant tally in my mind. ANY and EVERY thing that I do that adds something to His grace, that includes more than believing, trusting and resting in Him, is law.

In order to submit to the Lord, I must rest in Him and His provision for me. On Calvary, Christ's provision for me was grace, not only for eternal salvation, but for each and every moment of my life. He has provided me a body that works. It works! I have all of my parts! It functions correctly! I spend 5 days a week working with people who's bodies aren't ok, that aren't functioning properly. How can I ignore what God has provided for me in my body?

In the Thin Within workbook, we're encouraged to keep a light food log: indicate starting number, the food that I ate and approximate amount, the number I was at after and how I felt while eating. I was really reluctant to keep the log because, in the past, I had a tendency to obsessively focus on calories. The Lord has helped me to just use the log as an accountability tool. I'm thankful.

I'm also thankful for the (FINALLY) cooler weather. The highs have been in the 80s or low 90s, so I've gotten to start jogging again. It is the exercise that makes me feel the best. I can't run the whole distance, I walk parts, but I'm thankful to get out and get moving!

Finally, by relying on God He is showing me when I need to eat and when I need to stop. I've never stopped after just two pieces of pizza! Wow! Plus, it was homemade (ok, I bought the dough, my dough never come out that great).

Little by little...poco a poquito...tiny progress, but I'm noting moving backward :)