I could possibly be considered a bit of a grump at this time of year because whereas everybody else seems to get very excited about fireworks, I don’t! In fact I was grateful for it raining today because it meant I felt more confident going for  a run without too much worry about fireworks going off. I’m not actually a grump it’s just flashing fireworks and photosensitive epilepsy do not go hand in hand!

So I was grateful for the rain and cloud, however I did get completely and utterly soaked on my way home from work, and then on the run as well. The rain didn’t seem that heavy but it was constant, my entire journey home… Rain! And then as I was walking along a car went through a puddle and my leg got drenched! I was well and truly saturated!

A couple of weeks ago a lady at church asked me if I was still losing weight, after I said yes, she said ‘you are being sensible about it aren’t you?’ To which the answer was, again, yes. She hadn’t been around for a while, so I think she noticed more, and she was worried about me. The thing is my weight loss has been consistent, I’ve been losing 1-2lb every week, occasionally more, but never more than 4lb in a week and that was a rarity. It has taken time, and will continue to do so, but it has been consistent. And I think that is the key. I’ve not crash dieted, I’ve not binged, I’ve just changed my habits which has led to me consistently losing weight. The impact each week isn’t necessarily noticeable but the impact over time, most definitely is.

In the same way, on my way home I didn’t necessarily notice the rain, or each individual drop, but by the time I got home I was drenched. The consistency of the rain had more impact on me than the car splashing me.

I was home for about 40 minutes before I went out for my run. I went a different route in the hope of avoiding crowds and fireworks (not entirely successful), when I got back, again I was drenched. The husbands response “now that is what I call commitment”!

And it’s these three words which I think sum-up how I’ve got to where I am. Constant, consistent and committed. 

Although these three things have helped me to get to this physical place of eating properly, losing weight and being able to run, they are also a foundation for my teaching but also for friendships and relationships. The people I turn to when things go a bit wrong are the ones who I can rely on. The people I rely on are the ones have been constant, consistent and committed in who they are. And that is what I TRY to be as well.

I’m not saying they have to ALWAYS be there doing big things, but it’s the small things which make the biggest difference. Every morning, apart from when on holiday, I have a text conversation with E. It is normally to wish each other a happy day, or a countdown until the weekend, or trying to make each other jealous of how ‘exciting’ our days are. These are most definitely not the most meaningful, in depth discussions, but that consistency, that constant friendship, I know that if I’ve got a tricky day ahead I can just be completely honest about it. Because we have a rough idea of what is going on in each other’s lives we can support each other. Celebrating in the excitement, crying in the pain, laughing in the inane (possibly the most frequent)!

Those friendships and relationships are like the rain as I was walking home and running today, they saturate you, they make a bigger impact over a long period of time. Some people are like the puddle, a huge impact, but short lived.

I know which relationships have had the most impact on me, and I can only hope that I can provide that relationship for others as well. We all need to be saturated every now and again!