In a land far, far away lived a young, confident woman. Seeing all the possibilities around her, she found a gorgeous purple bikini that she wore on a cruise around the Bahamas. Life was fun, opportunities were infinite and that purple bikini followed her every summer from beach to beach.
Then one day the young woman met a prince from a far away land. She started a brand new life with the prince -- and soon little ones sprung from this wonderful union. New opportunities presented themselves but the confident, purple bikini-clad woman began to fade. She allowed herself to be defined by others, to lose her identity and with that she cloaked herself in a new shape -- and this shape had no room for her gorgeous purple bikini.
An angel message came to this woman one day -- who have you been created to be? What is your identity? Live the life you’ve been chosen to live! The woman woke up and with that, she was presented with the right people in her life -- to help her understand nutrition, push herself beyond her comfort zone, love herself completely and be confident in the woman she had become (beyond the roles of wife, mom, sister, friend). She realized she was the Daughter of the King and decided to live that way.
So what did the woman do this southern hemisphere summer? She slipped into her purple bikini - two kids in tow - and looked and felt the way she did all those years ago. She lay, looking out at the sea and thinking wow, this is the beginning of a life that was in hibernation. Welcome back, purple bikini woman. It’s good to see you again!
I am the bikini woman... obviously. This journey, this Holiday Health Challenge has given me an incredible opportunity to find myself again. And what I’ve found is a strong woman -- one who ran a 5km in the rain; and then ran a 7km the following day; one who hikes, salsa dances and swims. This is the woman I have always been. I had just put on layers of self-doubt, insecurity, heaviness = weight. In recognizing my true worth as an individual, I was given all the amazing resources to make that change. That change being to find myself again and start living the life I was made to live.
My friend who encouraged me to sign up for the Holiday Health Challenge made two definite predictions: You will get to your goal and beyond; You will go to South Africa feeling amazing and will be able to determine your next goals. Well, she was oh so right! It seemed like a pipe-dream, 23pounds ago. But when I slipped into that purple bikini, right where I’d last worn it 5 years ago, I knew that I was back. My true self had returned.
A relative said to me last week: Welcome back. It’s good to see you again.
I am back. And I’m here to stay.
Thank you to withu and all the resources available to help us reach our full potential. Thank you to my husband, sister and incredible friends who held my hand through this. I could not have found myself again without your selflessness. Ke lebogile... I am deeply thankful.
-- Trailwalker --
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