It’s New Years.
You’ve compiled your list of
lofty goals you’d like to attain within the next 365 days.
Inevitably, a hot body is at
least top 5.
So,
You find a picture of the
person you wish you were and you tape her to your fridge as your motivation.
You buy your outrageously
priced gym membership.
You buy all the cute gym
clothes that make you look the part and blend in.
And you head for your first
workout…’Eye of the Tiger’ blasting through your speakers.
You hop on the treadmill and
start walking.
Dude beside you is jogging,
so you decide you should too.
After about 45 seconds of
this nonsense, your lungs are popping, your calf’s cramping and you pull the
emergency stop cord.
All the while, ol’ Mr. Gump
beside you keeps on running and running and running…effortlessly.
You’re frustrated and
embarrassed but still hopeful.
So, you head over to the free
weights for a change of scenery.
There’s a grandma there doing
bicep curls with 25s.
You figure you’ve got 40
years on her, so surely you should at least start your regimen with 30s.
You go to lift one off the
rack and it doesn’t budge.
Slightly disheartened, you
make your way down the line until you land on a weight you can actually move…a
hefty 8 pounder.
You give yourself a quick pep
talk about Granny Bodybuilder being a freak of nature and you start lifting
your baby weights.
One…two…three…four…five…
Those muscles start burning
like whoah.
On. fire.
That one bulging vein in your
forehead decides to come to life and your face begins to contort in ways that
aren’t the most…attractive.
So you decide to protect what
little dignity you have left, drop the weights, and walk away.
All the while, Granny watches
you in the mirror, nonchalantly curling small children with her pinkies.
You’re humiliated and
discouraged but still grasping for some glimmer of hope.
So, you head to yoga class, figuring
since you passed the touch-your-toes test in elementary school this should be a
piece of cake.
After your last two failed
attempts, you think it would be best to end with a victory.
Easy peasy.
The class begins with
soothing voices and Enya playing in the background.
Great start.
Yet for reasons unknown to
you, they skip your specialty, the toe touch, and head straight to some pose that
looks more like a Chinese letter than a stretch.
You attempt the one-legged,
four-armed ballet move and topple over.
The next move is seated
(thank God!).
But then Patty Pretzel and No
Bones Nancy instruct you to twist and distort your arms and legs in a way
that’s surely impossible for anyone but a sea creature.
In the midst of giving it
your best attempt, you pull a hammy and army crawl it on out of there.
All the while, with eyes
closed and half-grins, everyone else in the class appears to be finding inner
peace.
You. Are. Finished.
No more.
This isn’t for you after all.
You quit.
Feeling defeated and alone,
you head home, dramatically rip Skinny Girl’s glamour shot off your fridge, take
an ice bath, then curl up on the couch with your Rocky Road and Ruffles, waiting
for one of those Miracle Weight Loss Pill infomercials to come on.
We’ve all heard, and probably
lived, this story more than once in our lifetime right?
Set an admirable goal.
Make the preparations.
Take the step.
Don’t see the immediate results you were hoping for.
And somewhere along the way,
Be it early or late in the
game,
Look around you.
Wonder if you’re just not cut
out for this.
Get discouraged.
Decide it’s impossible.
It hurts too much.
It’s not worth it.
Lose sight of the goal
And give up.
Quit.
Then spend the rest of your
life either settling for less than what you truly desire or waiting around for
an easier way.
Two years ago I prayed two
significant things:
1.
Lord, I want to
KNOW and BE Your heart.
2.
I want to be a
woman that You trust. That is so
intimate with You and so willingly obedient that You know I will follow
whatever You say in any given moment, whether in the secret place or in front
of thousands.
And I felt like the Lord
responded by letting me know that I could have what I asked for…
[Yay! Awesome! A promise!!]
…But that the pathway to the
promise was through the fire.
[ooooooooh.. :-/]
Was I willing? And was it worth it?
[Kindof like Peter, I
emphatically said “Yes Lord!! I would
even die for you!”]
“Ok, My Beloved.
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear, for I am with you wherever you go.”
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