When Was the Last Time...

When was the last time the following songs were top-10 radio hits?

• "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears
• "I Wanna Know What Love Is" by Foreigner
• "One More Night" by Phil Collins
• "Saving All My Love for You" by Whitney Houston

When was the last time the Kansas City Royals won the World Series?






When were the following toys introduced?

• Teddy Ruxpin
• Care Bears
• Pound Puppies

When was the last time this ring was worn on a regular basis?









The answer for every question is the same: 1985.  That's 26 years ago!  That's more than half of my lifetime (so far) ago!  Friends, no matter how one views it, that's a L - O - N - G time...

I bought that ring in Santa Fe, New Mexico after my first year in college.  But within six months after purchasing it, I had gained enough weight to make it uncomfortable when on my finger.  It became increasingly difficult to take off, and I reached the point that I wasn't sure if I could even get it off after putting it on, so I quit wearing it.

It disappeared into a keepsake box and remained packed away until a few years ago when we moved to our current location.  I was quite excited to find it again, but knew there was no way it could go on my finger.  But that didn't stop me from trying.

It didn't even make it past the first knuckle join on my ring finger.  It really didn't even fit on my pinky finger.  So I put it into a drawer and forgot about it again.

As I began to lose weight this year, that ring occasionally came out of the drawer "for a test fit."  Each time, it came a little further down the finger, but not enough.  Finally I told myself that I would not try again until I broke through the 190 pound mark.  Over this past weekend, I finally did so, and VIOLA!  it fits!!

In some ways, the success of fitting this ring on my finger is even more significant emotionally than walking my daughter down the aisle last month weighing 198 pounds.  I didn't expect that to be true.  But putting on this ring effectively "erases" my adulthood obesity.  It's like God has reset my biological clock back to that 18 year old kid, but now with the wisdom and commitment of adulthood to proper nutrition and exercise.  It's also a validation of Jesus' words,

"Have faith in God! I assure you that whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea’—and doesn’t waver but believes that what is said will really happen—it will happen. Therefore I say to you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you will receive it, and it will be so for you." (Mark 11:22-24)

I have believed that God will be honored through my body, that God will give me the enthusiasm for exercise and proper nutrition, and that I will lose weight and gain strength through this process.  And as a side benefit, I now can wear something that I thought would forever be beyond my grasp!  Just goes to show, "With God, all things are possible!"