Today marks seven years of me becoming a vegan. I remember sitting in the apartment that I shared with my ex, literally terrified of what that dietary change would do to both my body and my social life. I had been reared in a meat-eating home and had never met someone who was a pescatarian, much less a vegetarian or a vegan. Whenever possible, I would go out with my friends to happy hours, drinking alcoholic beverages and eating all the wings that my wallet could afford. Bacon and cheese were my two best friends, leading me to believe that both belonged on everything that I ate. During the height of my depression, I gorged on foods that dulled my mind from thinking about all of its ailments. I had lost all sense of what was healthy and what was good for me for so long. By November 2016, all I knew was that I was sick and tired of being sick and tired and that my doctor was heavily recommending some changes in my life. I weighed in at 314.2 pounds, my blood pressure was high, and I had gastrointestinal issues. Something had to give and I was willing to try something new, in the hopes of change.

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It was time to change.

I’ll be honest, not only am I reluctant to change, but I am also not a fan of that word. I feel like when we say that we are “changing”, we are becoming something/someone new at the expense of who we used to be. When I hear “change”, I often associate it with something bad because that’s all I heard people say about me when I would come home from college. “Michelle, you’ve changed” is what they would say to me. Yet I always thought that I was the same as I’d always been. Additionally, when I hear that word, I feel like the rug is being pulled from underneath me and that my reality will warp into something unrecognizable. Change has been brutal in my life, but surely it was still desired…. right?

A baby becomes an adult.
A fawn becomes a deer.
A caterpillar becomes a butterfly.

Some of the best examples of change are seen in nature. From the way leaves radiate their Autumn colors right before dancing away into the Wintry night, to the way the sun rises in the East after its peaceful sleep in the West. Nature says that change is beautiful yet it is still difficult for me to grasp.

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Beloved, if you are sitting here waiting for me to drop some gem on the importance of accepting change as it comes, please, stop waiting. I still struggle with that term yet I recognize that at its core, change is growth and growth is necessary. As you sit in your place of work, on the subway/metro/bus, or in your place of need, I pray that you do read the words that I share when I say that staying stuck is NOT an option; somehow, we must move past where we are right now. In order for us to get from the place in our lives where we currently reside, to the promise that God has over our lives, we must GROW. We must be able to recognize when our current reality is no longer serving us and be ready to step into what God has already spoken over lives.

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Yes, today marks seven years of me being a vegan but I have to be honest, I’m probably the worst vegan ever. Due to a lack of proper planning, fries had become my go-to food, So Delicious ice cream had become a daily indulgence, and Partake Cookies company has gotten more of my money than I care to admit. My Facebook memories remind me of how colorful my plates used to be when I first became a vegan… and my size 6 jeans remind me of my smaller, pre-Covid thighs. Unfortunately, even though I gave up meat and dairy, I did not change my thinking. Or, better yet, my thinking had not grown past that stuck period of my life.

Today I am doing what needed to be done so long ago- I am submitting to God and asking Him to give me grace… grace to grow. Seven years ago when I changed my diet, my mind and heart had not fully caught up with me. I saw the initial drop in weight and blood pressure, got happy, and then just found vegan ways to still numb my pain. Yes, there were some healthy years in between (like 2018 when I was at my lowest weight EVER), but there have been too many years of complacency and, frankly, I’ve had about enough.

Whew, today is a Monday. Nothing super special about this day except that it is another day that the Lord has allowed us to see. Thanksgiving is next Thursday and we are in the full holiday swing. Yet today is the perfect day to look back, in order to look forward (yes, Sankofa!). Today is the perfect day to grow your heart and give it the opportunity to catch up with your mind, for where your heart is, so is every other part of you.

Beloved remember this:
Change is inevitable but growth is optional.
You and I have been given GRACE… grace to grow.

Be blessed.