Sharing our Successes…meet KIM!

Today’s Success story comes from a friend I met online- Kim. Her story is powerful and I know it will encourage you in your journey. I first ran across her page and I am daily amazed by the words that God gives her to share. I’m so excited she was willing to share her story with us at Wellness Witness.

 ———————————————————-

Hi!  My name is Kim and I am a stay at home mom
from the Dallas-Fort Worth Area in Texas. 
I have been married to my wonderful husband Ron for almost 15 years and
have two beautiful daughters.  

 When asked
to describe myself and my priorities, I usually refer to the “Five F’s”… my
FAITH, my FAMILY, FITNESS, healthy FOOD, and having FUN!  Everything I do usually revolves around these
priorities!  My journey is not your
typical story of a big transformation. 
In fact, health and fitness have been a big part of my life for most of
my adult years.  However, we all have
obstacles and struggles along our journey, mine came in the form of Lyme’s
Disease.

For several years, I had been
working out and eating clean, and saw great results; even the high cholesterol
that runs in my family had been lowered significantly into the “healthy
zone.”  I felt strong and healthy and was
in a really good place in my life. 
Everything changed after a family vacation when I came home with what
looked like a spider bite.  I ignored it
for several weeks, thinking nothing about it, until the horrible symptoms
began…Anxiety, joint pain, muscle weakness, heart palpitations, dizziness and
confusion wreaked havoc on my entire body. 

 I was diagnosed with Lyme’s Disease; something
that I had heard about, but never really knew how devastating it can be.  What I thought was a spider bite, was
actually from a deer tick that affects your central nervous system.  The treatment was four weeks of antibiotics,
and the symptoms got worse before they got better.  I spent many nights awake, covered in sweat
and in pain, crying out to God for help.

 Afterwards, I felt so weak, still having
lingering muscle and joint pain which got better over time.  It was heart wrenching to see the health that
I worked so hard to achieve, taken from me in a moment, and I could not see how
I would ever be able to restore it. 
However, during those weeks of illness, I was clinging to God’s Word and
His promises.  It was the ONLY thing that
brought me peace during those days.  Yes,
I was physically much weaker, but I had never felt so spiritually strong.  

With the help and encouragement
of family and friends, I decided to try working out again.  It was really a struggle in the beginning,
and for the first few weeks, my workouts lasted for about 5-10 minutes, and
then I would leave the gym in tears, completely discouraged and saddened.  

There were several times I wanted
to quit.  It was only because of the
promises in God’s Word, and the love and support of my family that I continued
to go back every day.  I clung to
Scripture and declared its truth throughout the workout, even though many times
my body was screaming to give up, but little by little, I regained my strength. 

 I will never forget the day I finally
completed a full hour workout…that day, I cried tears of joy and
thankfulness.  I still have trouble
making it through a workout without welling up with tears.  The ability to work out and have health is
such a precious gift, one that I will never again take for granted.  

Now, my hope and prayer is that I
can encourage and inspire others to fight through whatever difficulties and
obstacles they might be facing to become their healthiest!  I started a facebook page page, Fit Family Faith at first to
motivate myself and had only invited a few friends and family to it. 

 I am humbled beyond words to see how it has
grown and how God is using the Lyme’s Disease trial to be a testimony for
others who are facing trials of their own. 
There is an incredible scripture in Genesis 50:20 that echoes this,
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what
is now being done, the saving of many lives.”  I know that what I went through was intended
to harm me, but through God’s sustaining hand, I have come through it stronger
than I could ever have imagined and I love the person I have become, because I
have fought to become her!  

Another verse I mediated on often
was Romans 8:37, which says “in all these things we are more than
conquerors through Him who loved us.” 
Your obstacles are probably different than mine, but I believe the
solution is the same…include God in your journey.  I encourage you to write down your goals, and
be very specific.  Then, pray over them
daily.  Find a few scriptures that
encourage you and repeat them throughout the day, especially when you are
struggling with making healthy choices. 
Also, remember that it is a journey, and it takes time.  You will stumble from time to time, but give
yourself GRACE, and then keep moving forward! 
You can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians
4:13)! 

Here are a couple of my “go-to”
scriptures for reference: