Two nights ago I was motivated to pursue a new career in self-abuse through a program called Insanity. This muscular man with a good attitude and inner city flavor began to tell me how beautiful I would be if I jump for sixty days.
Sometimes I don’t just jump.
I also do pushups.
I popped in a DVD called the fit test. This enthusiastic sweaty man came on and kept telling me I would get a beach body. I didn’t sign up for this. I don’t want a beach body. I just don’t want to die by the time I’m 35 by overdosing on cholesterol.
To be fair I was nervous to start this workout routine. The box pretty much informed me I would die. I reasoned to myself that it’s just a test. So it should be easy. I do well with tests. Blood tests. Drug tests. I haven’t failed a single one.
I was afraid I would get a C on Hepatitis once, technically I did fail THAT test, but that’s probably a good thing to come out negative.
The nice DVD man began to inform me we would be doing some light stretches. It seemed enjoyable and even child-like. Eventually I began to think I was capable of surviving Insanity.
…………
Twenty minutes later I was clutching my sides doing a new exercise that looked like this… (DO NOT WATCH THIS IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH ABOUT CARTOON DOGS WITH NAUSEA)
I lost so much fluid. So much dinner. Potatoes Au Gratin does taste wonderful.
The first time.
Only the first time.
Not only was it embarrassing to have to clean up all over the gym and walk a nifty hipster puke bag to the local trash can (It’s hipster since it’s not popular). I woke up with such a sore back that I felt as if I was ready to crawl up in the grave and call it a life.
In the morning we went to a bible study. Everyone was older than I, perhaps upper 40’s-60’s. They all groan when exiting vehicles in the morning. I do too now.
We are a brotherhood.
Why am I telling my puke story and waxing eloquent about being destroyed by Shaun T?
Here are several common reasons to work out.
Reasons to work out:
I have an estrogen based life form who likes me and tells me to stay in shape
I love to sweat
I want a beach body
My only dream in life is abs
Running is the most enjoyable hobby I have
Exercise makes me wake up and feel
I just love to puke
These are some common reasons…
NONE OF WHICH ARE MINE.
You see I was leaning over the trashcan, begging God to rapture me, when I started thinking.
WHY AM I DOING THIS?????
The truth is I have slowly been running, lifting weights, and working out because I am going on a grueling and intense missions trip. So far I am not only terrible at it, I have been beat by ninety-year-old Asian men in short shorts, several woman who are far heavier then I, and ache every day as if people beat me with socks full of soap bars.
The reason I bring this up though is because the commitment to be a missionary is so much more than what often meets the eye.
It’s easy to not be aware. They even have a test…
Honestly it is in all of our job fields.
The Wal-Mart employee probably looks like he only does a few things at first glance but in general he may be juggling shifts, working with an angry manager, cleaning nasty messes, stocking shelves. We often only get to see this fraction of someone and the things they do.
Many world racers are exercising right now. Buying gear. Raising support. Writing letters. Saying goodbye to good friends. Usually the preparation and work that goes into it is unseen. It’s not all kitten tickle fights and salted caramels. It takes much work to do what we are doing. It’s not just adventure and freedom. It takes work, sweat, and awkward phone calls.
Yet the sheer excitement of doing something so beautiful and radical as the World Race can sometimes keep us and our supporters from seeing how hard the race really is.
I talked with a missionary last Monday about her time in Southeast Asia. The isolation. The culture shock. The battle to stay on the field when things just seem impossible. It brought back so many memories. It really was a good reminder to encourage other missionaries. Some of the people getting ready to leave are giving up everything. From the outside looking in it’s easy to think “You go broheim! It’s going to be so fun for you!”
Sometimes it remains unseen that these wonderful squad mates and I are headed to squatty potties. Smells that are unheard of. Sticky sweaty showerless weeks. Facial hair out of control. Leg hair beyond imagination! It’s just not… the most comfortable trip to go on.
I LOVE THAT.
We look not forward to five star hotels and good smells. Obviously none of us are going to be pampered. It’s not about that. This trip in someways is about abandonment, suffering, brokenness, and learning that the world is so much more than our westernized American Dream.
It’s a sobering thought to how much preparation is important at this phase of racing. That my exercise now will translate to a good attitude hiking with a heavy backpack later. That my future will be extremely rewarding and yet extremely challenging.
I am so excited to be challenged and stretched and forced to be uncomfortable in a culture that demands the comforts of home. I think we all are to some extent. It won’t be easy. But it will be worth it.
Exercising got me thinking about mission work and the people around us everyday. How often we assume stupid things and take for granted the work they are doing.
I wrote down some of my experiences of hilarious assumptions people made about my time in Taiwan and will post them tomorrow so that this blog isn’t a huge thing to read through… but I have really been thinking about the unseen aspects of life.
Everything from missions to the people who wait tables.
Often a waitress is working really hard and people sit back at the table saying things such as “She only filled up my drink twice. Not getting a good tip. Why didn’t she smile.”
That’s honestly a really short-sighted look into someone’s life. What if she is having a bad day? What if her mind is at home with someone who has cancer? What if life is just awful and IHOP isn’t the sick thrill in her daily walk?
Give Me Your Eyes – Brandon Heath
It’s so easy to miss it. To get frustrated at the customer service lady. To see your mom doing something and complain. To be annoyed at the driver in front of us. We always notice things that are so obnoxious and painful… yet when do we notice hurt? Pain? Look and see that people are broken and wounded and crying out for Jesus? So much unseen goes into everything. Every person. Every day. Every job.
So in short, today if you see a missionary or someone… one simple thing can REALLY help to not make false judgments. To see more of the picture…
Just ask them what the story is. Ask what they are doing. Ask what it requires to be a missionary or work at McDonalds or raise three kids. Ask that old man in the back of church how he got here.
The answers are often astounding, beautiful, and intricate. People are fascinating.
I’m doing so many things to be a better missionary. I did so many things in Asia that I haven’t really told anyone. Mostly because we never really ask much of what’s going on in life. I’m sure you do a billion things I hardly know. It’s fun to start speaking of life in deeper terms.
As I continue to abuse my body for the upcoming race it is just one more unseen thing that goes into missions work. I am so excited to see the world.
Make no mistake though… I’m going to see things I never thought of… and it’s going to be a lot more insane then Shaun T.
