Today marks 2 weeks since my first bike ride in Mae Sot! It has been great! Along with bike riding, I have been taking yoga classes at the gym down the street and doing some cardio workouts at home. As a result, today also marks Day #13 that some part of my body is extremely SORE.
I have almost forgotten what it was like to be blissfully unaware of the random muscles throughout my body. Seriously. Every day I wake up, I am immediately made aware of which new, random muscle I used the day before. My legs, knees, back, shoulders, ankles, hips, arms, neck…nothing is immune. Everything hurts.
I don’t like pain. A) I have a low tolerance, and B) I have never seen the point in subjecting myself to it willingly. I will avoid to if/when I can. I always had the option. (Cake or Death? Um…cake, please.) I always had the ability to make that decision for myself. Well, come to find out, “having a choice” was a luxury of my old life.
Here, things are a lottle different. When it is Wednesday morning and the team is schedule to be in a community 3 miles away, it does not matter it is 90+ degrees outside, you are tired, and (oh yeah!) your whole body hurts! Your means of transportation is a bicycle. You are committed to being in the community in 30 minutes. You HAVE to get on your bike and go.
I’m not going to sugar coat it: It flat out SUCKS! I mean, I love riding bikes as much as the next person. But remember, I am trying to avoid pain. I am trying to avoid being uncomfortable. I am trying to avoid any situation which holds ANY possibility that I may not be able to complete the task at hand.
One of the great things about the loooonnnngggg bike rides here is how after 10 minutes of thinking to myself, oh my word, I may just die, I still have a solid 20 minutes to think about something else. Halfway through the ride is usually where the pep talk kicks in…
You can do this…
You are doing this…
You got this…
Keep it up…
It will get easier…
You are getting stronger…
…and herein lies the truth: Not all pain is bad. Some pain is actually there to make us stronger. The “soreness” we feel is not always a sign of how weak we are, but a confirmation that our “workouts” are working. They are doing their job in building up our “muscles.”
The first week was rooooough. My prayers were less of “God, thank you for this beautiful day…” and more “GOD!! *deep breath* I *breathe* can’t *breathe* make *breathe* it!” There were times I wanted to pull off on the side of the road and just give up and sob. But I didn’t. I kept going. Why? Because I realized I had to. I realized there was a part of me that could still keep going. Through it all, I am learning something really cool: I am actually a lot stronger than I think.
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13
Hey blog readers/lovers!
I am in the process of fundraising to reach my final deadline. I am just under $2000 away from making the deadline on July 1st. If you would like to support me financially, please click the links on this page (left-hand side) that say “Support Me!” Much love and thanks!
Christina
