Beautiful message from Michelle:
Happy Easter! As this day begins, I am reminded of how truly blessed my life is and of the greatness of God. Our Lord has a plan for each and every one of us and His plan for me became very clear this past year! Almost exactly one year ago today God put a new plan into motion for me when I walked into my hairdressers at a whopping 255 lbs.. I was obese, unhealthy, and miserable. I was wearing a very tight size 20 (because I refused to buy 22's that were actually the size I was) and I looked and felt terrible. That is when divine intervention occurred - I heard the name AliceAnne Loftus ! My hair dresser told me about AA and her challenges. She told me she would give AA my e-mail so I would get more information about the challenges - I honestly thought she would never follow through and I would never hear anything so I was safe! However, 2 days later, I got an e-mail from AA! I was surprised and felt a little pressure but I figured, what the heck! It's only $25! Why not see what its all about? I had no idea what to expect but I signed up anyway and I will be forever grateful that I did! The food, the exercise, the choices, and the attitude have all been up to me but the the support, the guidance, the encouragement, the inspiration and the tough love all came from being a part of this group. Watching others succeed (especially Angie) gave me the hope that I too could succeed. Hearing about other challengers reaching their fitness goals gave me the courage to start running and to try harder, more challenging things - they too gave me hope that I could get fit! But, I truly do believe that God gave me my own personal Angel that day at the hair dressers when I heard the name Alice Anne Loftus. When I didn't believe it was possible to do this, she believed it for me until I could believe it for myself. When I needed encouragement, she was right there with it. When I needed a swift kick in the ass, it was her foot that was there! There were times when I didn't like what she had to say (suck it up buttercup!) but she was always right! She taught me that there were absolutely no excuses if you want to do this and those are the words that I have lived by through these challenges. God knew I needed help and he sent it to me - everything happens for a reason and it was no accident that AA came into my life. It was up to me to embrace the opportunity but it was my AA Angel that made me want to! 1 year later I have lost 113.5 lbs, I am now a size 6, and I am signed up to run my first half marathon in June. Most importantly, I am healthy! 1 year ago, I never would have believed anyone who told me any of this was possible. It was divine intervention and this amazing knack that AA has for always throwing out challenges or comments at exactly the right time that I need them! So, on this beautiful day I thank God, not only for sacrificing his only son for me but also for sending me (and all of us) a beautiful, intelligent, selfless angel named AliceAnne Loftus! Thank you AA for believing in me until I was able to believe in myself! You are a true gift from God! I love you!
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