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| "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews Chapter 12) |
I woke up early this morning (as has become a new habit of
mine over the last several weeks), formally a night owl I have transformed
into an early bird. Last Summer I
downloaded the “Couch to 5K” running program onto my IPhone at first I thought,
“Me, run? That’s a laugh – it’s NEVER going to happen…” Nevertheless, I decided
to give it a shot. I joined an
inexpensive gym, got on the treadmill and started the program. Three or four times a week I made a
commitment to myself to keep at it, each workout section ranging from 20 to 40 minutes, breaking me in slowly with
a warm up, brisk walk, and eventually intervals of jogging then running over a
12 week period. I completed the total program by October and much
to my surprise (and this did not happen overnight…) found myself actually enjoying
these sessions of steady runs! Feeling a sense of completion and a bit of
well-earned self-pride, I wasn’t a couch potato anymore! I boldly moved forward
and downloaded the next program – “5K to 10K.”
Now this program is a bit more difficult, it includes intervals of
jogging, steady run and a fast run. It encourages
me over a period of days and times to move forward. It is
not easy, and there are times when I wonder if I can keep going until the daily
program is completed – but still I push myself to continue. Being a divorced parent, the best time for me
to workout is early morning when the gym first opens. Now when I say “early morning” I mean wake up
at 4:15 am and get to the gym by 5 am.
This morning, I woke up at 4:15 am and just lay there looking up at my
ceiling. I decided to go back to sleep
instead of going to work out. It started
my day off on the “wrong foot.”
I grew up in a small town near Boston. The Boston Marathon runs right across Beacon Street. I grew up off of Beacon Street. Growing up, it had been a family tradition to go down the street and watch the runners run the race. What perserverance it takes to run the Boston Marathon. Those runners push themselves in the most amazing way. It takes training and discipline and perserverance to run any race. It takes a mindset to continue on - even when everything in you doesn't want to keep going.
As I continued to stick to the program, I started to see a connection between my body, my mind and
my spirit. How the three are truly tied
up in one. Hard as it is for me to get
up in the morning that early, how rewarding it feels once I have gotten up,
driven to the gym and completed my workout.
I feel a sense of accomplishment, energized and ready to begin my
day. On the days I don’t get out of bed,
I find myself lagging with a lack of energy, on edge, irritable with a lack of
patience and just all around “yucky.”
This is not something that happened “overnight” it has been a
process.
The Bible tells us:
1 Corinthians 6:19 “Your body is a temple of
the Holy Spirit, Whom you have received of God.”
Therefore it is
important that we take care of our physical bodies, for they are our “temple.” I never really paid much mind to that before,
never being an athletic person, but after getting into the habit of working out
30 -40 minutes a day, 3-4 days a week, I can see how it truly affects my
attitude, my mind, how I feel about myself and even extends to how I treat
others, not to mention what it does for my health. Since I have begun working out I have seen my
health improve, and being a cancer survivor this is a definite plus. Often
we are so busy with our lives that we neglect ourselves. Now I am in no way a “gym rat,” I go in complete
my 30 – 60 minutes workout, 3-4 times a week, hit the shower and then I’m outta
there. But the outcome is not only felt
through my physical body, as I have indicated above, but through my mind and my
spirit.
This also got me thinking about my spiritual walk. How as in the case with the beginning of
trying the “Couch Potato to 5K Program” there were times I wanted to stop, to
give up, feeling like I couldn’t go on.
It was too difficult, too hard. I
was too tired. But I didn’t – I
persevered. I kept pushing myself forward.
Giving myself “pep” talks. There
are many times along our spiritual walk that we have to do the same thing,
especially if you have had a prodigal period in that journey. The Bible says:
Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore we also,
since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside
every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us.”
There have been so many times over the last four years that
I have wanted to give up. Where I have
really asked myself, “What is the point??!”
But even at my lowest of moments, I have perservered. It says:
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become
weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not
give up.”
Why is it so hard to do that which is good for us? Do that which benefits us? Physically,
spiritually, emotionally, our bodies, spirits and minds are all tied
together. If you don’t take care of your
body there are physical consequences. If
you don’t feed yourself spiritually or pray – there are consequences. All of these affect your mind and therefore
your life.
Honestly, it has not been until I got into the habit of
exercising over the last 8 months that I can see the difference it has made in
my life. It has made me stronger, it has
made my mind sharper, it has made me realize that not only do I need to exercise
my body, but my spirit and my mind. I
have realized that there may always be something that I need to work on – that is
okay, that is life. As long as we have
breathe in our body we will always have something to better. I think that is a good thing, and I think it
is humbling to have that realization.
Coming to the point I am at (and still have so much farther to go) I can
see all of this, myself. Just like it says in the
Bible:
Psalms 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good!”
There are
realizations that can only hit deep when we experience them and realize them personally for ourselves. My needs are different from your needs. My strengths
may be your weaknesses; your strengths may be my weaknesses. But it is something that you can’t discover
for yourself until you try it yourself. There is
a big difference. It becomes personal.
Romans 7:19 “For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil
I do not want to do--this I keep on doing.”
That is a scripture that I find myself wondering ALL the
time. There is always room for improvement,
always. My motivation with my body being
the healthiest it can be is not only due to the fact that I am a cancer
survivor. No one ever expects (at ANY
age) that they will come down with a life threatening illness. We were created to live forever – it is only
because of the sin of Adam and Eve that sin entered into the world, and hence –
death. So you never feel as though “you
have had enough life.” When I was
diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago, it was a shock (to say the very
least). It was a wake up call for my
body, my spirit and my mind. The three
are tied together. Your body is your
tent, your spirit is housed in the tent and your mind – to me, is part of your
soul. All three affect your life. They go hand in hand. When you think about taking care of yourself –
think about ALL three parts of YOU.
You matter to God.
Isn’t it time you mattered to yourself?
It won’t be easy – but nothing WORTH anything ever is. Each new day that you are blessed with is a
new blank sheet of life to write on. Isn’t
it time to start a new chapter? Write
well. These moments never come back
again…
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