I found a small bag as I was cleaning out my garage cabinets. It contained some seeds, not labeled, but they looked like grass seed to me. I took them out into the yard, and I cast them in a bare spot. I watered, and watched, and watched, and in time, this “grass” came up. But it looked a bit odd, so I let it grow to see exactly what I had really planted. Turned out it was a grain sample of something called Tritacale, a cross between wheat and rye that had been given to me by a grain dealer at a legislative conference. Amazing? No, but it wasn’t what I expected. See, I had made a pre-determination that what I had planted was grass, so I firmly expected to see grass come up, but in reality I had planted a grain plant, and that’s what came up!

It is perfectly true that you reap what you sow. The scriptures tell us that, and so does secular wisdom as well. But, what complicates life sometimes is that–like me in my backyard–we don’t always realize exactly what it is that we are sowing. Sometimes we don’t know because of a self-blinding process that is called “denial” in recovery.

What does this have to do with fitness athletics? Well, there is a small but regular inventory of folks who come to Body for Life not just to get fit, but to solve their other problems. They most often are seeking relief from an eating addiction or disorder; some are dealing with a relationship that is falling apart. These folks are sincere, dedicated, hopeful, but often hopelessly confused about what they are feeling and why. And one of the most consistent things I have observed about these folks are that they are completely consciously unaware of their real motives and of why things have happened to them the way they do.

These people dealing with difficult problems often have ill-defined or fantasy like BFL goals, and they are emotionally labile, meaning that they go from one mood to another in a nano second, often undpredictably. Most are also so eager to escape the pain and torture of whatever else is going on that they have actually put little thought or serious goal setting into their challenge. They plow ahead, plant their seeds of undefined hope, and then wait expectantly for a miracle to occur in their lives. Often, what come along instead, are the predictable consequences of their disordered life.

As mature BFL’ers, many of you are no doubt reading the guestbook, the tracker and other forums, and are answering questions, and conversing with many people whom you really don’t know well. This whole blog has been just a long, long way of saying that I hope you’ll keep an eye out for the “signs” I have talked about above, that may well mean that you’re talking to someone who is desperate, but not about getting fit or losing weight, but to get rid of an addiction that has literally sucked much of the life out of them.

If you’re not sure but suspicious, most are completely unoffended if you just casually inquire if some of the difficulty or sadness could be related to food issues or tough relationships. Some are even candid about it. And you can often play the role of a good listener, which helps the person to help himself. You can never go wrong just encouraging someone with these struggles, but telling them of a champion, or a friend or whatever, who has struggled with a similar issue and had victory over it may often do more for them than anything else.

You came here to this blog for a reason, and you’ve read this far for a reason as well. I don’t know what that reason is, or what God might do with it, but you do. I hope you’ll help others and that this blog has helped you to see that there are all kinds of others out there who need help.

Helping others is the best and fasting growing seed crop you can sow!