On Friday, October 20, 2023, I turned 65.  That Saturday my husband and I hiked seven miles in the Nature Center & Refuge in Fort Worth, TX. We have hiked in New Mexico and Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas and we have many more places on our retirement bucket list still to do.  I love seeing God’s vast landscapes and capturing them in pictures.  I have to stay healthy to get there. I can’t sit down and quit now. This is not a one-time walk, but a healthy journey of faith and hope, and a walk with the one who loves me.

Since 1st grade, I have struggled with my weight and tried diets only to lose and gain again. I turned forty in 1998 and at my 4’11½” frame, I was a size 16. Then my church started a First Place for Health class. There I found the tools for weight loss and a great bible study which helped me grow spiritually. In 2007, we moved from that area and I was unsuccessful in finding another class. In 2015, I found myself once again at the top of my weight and desperate. Once again I searched the First Place For Health website for a class near me. Not only did God send me one, but a new church family as well. Karen taught the class for a couple of years, but stopped to do other things. Retirement and COVID found me once again in need of a weight program that would guide me into a healthier future. January 2021 found me in a virtual First Place class that did not disappoint me in seeking God and finding success with losing weight once again.

It has been 25 years and God still asks me to “seek his face” (Ps 105:4) for my needs, even in weight.

Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you, “declares the Lord”, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, LORD.   Psalm 89:15

A sister encourager for life,

Donna M Williams