Three years ago, I found myself at a crossroads. I knew I could either continue down the same path that I had been on for most of my adult life, or make a life-altering, drastic choice that would forever change me. I chose the latter. I chose the change. I chose to walk down a very difficult path, completely in the dark, but knowing without a doubt it was the right thing to do.

You hear about taking a "step of faith" probably quite often in your life. "Stepping out in faith" is not a phrase that is foreign to me. Many of the biggest, scariest blessings I have ever been on the receiving end of required a big step of faith for me. I can be a bit of a planner by nature, so when the situation calls for me to blindly move forward with a decision I know very little about, or walk into the unknown because it's the best thing to do, I'm not at my most comfortable position!

As I said, three years ago, facing that crossroads in my health and my quality of life, I decided to dive into the world of weight loss surgery. 

Since developing pre-eclampsia twice and having major blood pressure issues, putting on a lot of weight over the course of many years and some hereditary heart-conditions I knew I was headed toward at some point, it was time to do something. The idea came to me one evening while I was doing a google search for something else entirely. It popped up as an advertisement, believe it or not! The idea had never crossed my mind up until that point and when it did, it was an instant feeling of finality for me. I talked to my husband and made a call the very next day to a medical practice. 

She believed she could, so she did.

It wasn't long before I had decided to undergo a vertical sleeve gastrectomy. I did a lot of research and decided this was the best option for me as it is completely irreversible and has a very high success rate for loss as well as a low rate of regain. My surgery went very well and before long, the weight started to pour off of me, seemingly! For me, this was the decision that ultimately saved my life. I believe this with a passion! 

Figure out your "why".

Before embarking upon this very difficult journey, I knew I was going to need motivation to continue to press on when things became tough. I knew I would need to bring to mind my "why" very often during my long journey. For me, it was my children. I have two incredibly amazing little boys who need me in their lives. They deserved so much more than what I was able to give them before this surgery and the significant weight loss that followed. In my heart, I knew the mom I wanted to be for them. I just had to figure out a way to become that woman. 

They are my reason!

When my weight loss was all said and done, I lost around 105 pounds give or take a couple. I went from a size 22/24 pants to a size 8/10 and I am telling you, I have never felt better in my life. Weight loss surgery may not be for everyone, but it was the absolute best decision for me. If I would have let fear of the unknown control me, I would have never taken the plunge and had the surgery. 

If my "why" had become too clouded by my "what if", then my CHANGE MAY HAVE NEVER TAKEN PLACE.

If you find yourself at a crossroads of ANY kind in your life, I would encourage you to ask yourself this question, "A year from now, will I wish I had taken that first step today?"

Think about the answer, pray about the change and in a years time, you could be a whole year into that life-changing decision that fear almost conquered.