The Oreo and the Unseen Things

I’m on a diet.
Yeah. I am.
Most of the time.
The other day I had an Oreo, not because I was especially starved or even because it looked all that irresistible to me. It was there in front of me, so I ate it. I ate it quickly and painlessly and in one sweeping motion of hand to mouth, the oreo took a little trip down my gullet to be seen in the form of a pair of pants that doesn’t fit. Because I didn’t really want the oreo and because I didn’t savor it or lick the life out of the creamy center or enjoy it with the under-7 crowd, I sort of forgot I even had it. But sometime later I found myself standing in front of my bathroom mirror getting ready to go somewhere and I noticed there was black oreo dust all over my mouth. Hmm. I swiped at it quickly. It didn’t come off. So I swiped at it again. Nope, still there. I had to get a warm rag and scrub pretty good to get that one oreo off of my mouth.

That struck me for the moment. One oreo that I forgot about eating stayed with me and the residue of it was evident to anyone who saw me. That made me think about the secret things I say and think that I shouldn’t. Things thought about in my mind only. Or things said only to one trusted friend. Those are the secret oreo. What if those were written across my forehead in Sharpie? Gossip. Slander. Judgmental negativity. Criticism. Selfishness. Just because the world doesn’t see that oreo as it goes in doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

This morning we studied the tongue section of James. I’ve heard it as many times as I’ve heard the pledge of allegiance. For some reason, though, it hit me differently this morning. The statement was made that what comes out of your mouth is the greatest indication of your character that there is. What comes out of my mouth is who I am. Maybe not who I want to be, but who I am.

In the past, I’ve separated these little mouthy things from the rest of me. If I believe James, and I do, I can’t do that and be worth a whole lot.

I recently signed on to a nifty little site called Loseit.com. As you might guess, it is a weight loss site. Since signing on, I’ve done two things: gained weight and maintained the weight I gained. I’m pretty sure I’m throwing off their averages. I’m sure as fire throwing off mine. What is the deal?

The deal is: The little stuff matters.

I’ve been fooling myself for quite some time. I’ve been waiting for some big block of time or some big marathon for out-of-shape chicks to come along, complete with a very edifying personal trainer, instead of taking the 5 minutes I have to read a chapter in my bible or jump rope.  Because the chunks I have are more like scraps, I think they don’t matter. What would happen if I took every spare moment I had and gave it to something that made me better? What would happen if I shunned every Oreo and every preposterous article on CNN.com? And where would I be in one month if I replaced the drivel with things that grow me (not larger, you understand…)?

I have to try this. Again.
Fortunately for me, all the oreos are gone.