I am driven to exercise by forces that I cannot explain. Although I have had bursts of desires for physical activity at times, never has it been this constant or this much. There seems to be a snowball effect of energy. The more I “move” the more I can’t wait until I get to again. It is getting harder and harder to wait through my rest-up days. It feels like a kid waiting in line for a ride on the roller coaster. Perhaps the most unlike me is getting up EARLY just to go for a walk/run. (Evidence of transformation due to two things: 1. Run/walking. And 2. Waking up to do so.) I chuckle at all the comments regarding marathon runners I’ve made in the past such as, “What kind of idiot would want to train to jog 26 miles for no reason?” Well, now I can’t wait to run my first half marathon I plan to run with my sister in one year. I am in no way close to being ready for it. (Good thing I’m starting now.) I’m not even fit enough to train for it properly. I’m in training to pre-train for the training. Do I think running a marathon will make me a more accomplished person? Do I think I’ll be somebody by completing such a ridiculous task? Do I think all the cool kids run marathons and maybe I’ll fit in with them now? No, No, and No. I desire to run it just because I think it will be fun. Gasp! Can it be that simple? I think not only can it be, but it MUST be in order for it to be real. I get excited thinking about the next time I can squeeze in a walk/run. I find myself doing odd little things throughout the day. When I use the bathroom, I do about 60 seconds of arm exercises. Most recently, I added in 20 minutes of walking during my lunch break the three times a week I get a lunch break. When I learned we were only about a quarter mile from our campground, I hopped out and walked the rest of the way. (Never mind I was extremely carsick. I was still excited to have the chance to walk.) No longer do I have self-imposed rules/expectations on the kind and amount of exercises that are proper for me to promote weight loss. I just do what I want, and every day, I find I’ve added something new. I listen to my body. If my knees are a little too achy, I have wisdom to protect them. I ordered a new pair of squishy work shoes to preserve my “go” muscles and feel better during exercise time. There is no formula, but this is just what LIFE tastes like for me. The magical thing is that delivery of this new motivation only came when I aborted expectations of exercise. (And other lame-brained imaginations of what I should look like.) Can I confess something? I have a secret desire to teach a fitness class when my body is able. Exciting! The desire to teach a class, run a marathon, and just to be that physically fit still isn’t the primary force driving me to move. I just want to. That’s it. All the other stuff is just extra little goodies. Ahhhhh...Feels so good to be free to be me.
Bread of Life...
So many years I put pressure on myself to live according some man made rules (mine or somebody else.) "How" I should exercise is only one of the expectations I spent years feeling condemned about. This is one of the verses that set me free:
2 Corinthians 12:4 “-how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”
When Paul wrote this, he understood better than anybody about the Old Testament Law of Moses. When he went up to heaven, he heard things there that would be illegal for him to say according to that law. GLORY! GLORY! I realized that the truth of heaven, which IS my reality, is not the man made law and misinterpretations I believed were truth. I can think of no better practical example than exercising. I have heard so much information regarding exercise. I took aerobics in college. I have taught whole chapters on exercise at TTU. I know the benefits and “rules” about it. All the information on what was “right” did not make me want to do it. It was a law to me. I was a bit rebellious to it because I thought it was something I had to do to become “right” in the health world. Since I didn’t do what I and others thought I SHOULD do, I felt condemned about it. If I did start exercising, I would have a false sense of pride about it. I thought I was really doing good. Self righteous about exercise. Shoowee. But then I would stop and the condemnation would come again. Now I SEE the TRUTH of heaven of who I am, and it literally makes me want to run. Woooo….Think I will right now. (Just ‘cause I want to.)
Nutritional Nugget
Water….zero calories and one of the six nutrient classes. I drink water all the time now. I think maybe in the last two weeks I have 2 or 3 beverages besides water (and coffee). There was a time when I hated the fact I needed water. I had a little taste aversion to it from being sick when I was pregnant, but more than that I thought it was the thing I had to do. Now I drink it all the time because I desire it. I love it with lemon. I love it with cucumbers. I love it with mint leaves. When I think I want a little something late at night, I choose water instead of a comfort carb. I only do this because I want to. Our bodies are mostly made of water. I love the way I feel after drinking only water. I love knowing it helps to flush out toxins from my body. I love that the lack of calories mean I can eat more of other things I enjoy. Water taste better to me now than any fruit tea drink that used to be my favorite. Thankful for this transformation to health in me.
...Hey! This reminds me of somebody!
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