“… didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.”
I Corinthians 6:19-20 (The Message)
God loves each one of us so personally. Did you know that He wants us to succeed more than we do? Let me say that again. He wants us to live an abundant life and succeed more than we want to succeed.
I’ve struggled with eating healthy and exercising for a long time. I’m not sure why. When I think about it realistically, it makes sense to move my body purposefully every day and the benefits I get from those movements last all day, all week, all month. However, life gets busy or I get sick and my routine falls by the wayside and it’s hard to pick it back up again. Sitting on the couch with another cup of coffee sounds more appealing than putting on my workout clothes and climbing onto the treadmill.
However, because God loves me so much, He gave me an accountability partner this spring. One who has the right mix of compassion and “you will do this, no excuses!” Not only that, but this person is knowledgeable about fitness and has been helping me work on strength training instead of just cardio. I was introduced to the 7-Minute Workout Interval in order to help me work my core muscles, not just burn calories. While I’m still new enough at it I’m not sure I notice a difference, I definitely am gaining more energy and feeling sore in muscles that are starting to wake up again.
One of the things my accountability partner said that made a lot of sense to me was this, “It’s seven minutes out of your life. Who doesn’t have seven minutes to invest in themselves?” Point well taken. God used those words to make me think about it a little deeper. It’s not just seven minutes out of my life… it’s seven minutes toward life. A healthier life ready to serve Him. A healthier life to serve my family. A healthier life to life abundantly because the opportunities will be more available when I’m healthy enough to say “yes” to them as they are presented.
The goal is to do the workout three times a day every day. I’m not quite there. I’m still working on every day once a day, but I will get there, eventually. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. I’m not working out to fit into a specific bathing suit by beach weather. I’m working out to be the healthiest version of “me” that God created so that I can fulfill the purpose He gave for me during my lifetime. I’ve noticed that while I may not be at every day yet with 7 minutes a day, I’m working out on the treadmill daily for longer and faster stretches. I’m gaining endurance, I’m gaining energy and ultimately I’m gaining health. Slow and steady, but it’s coming.
Seven minutes out of my life? Or seven minutes toward life? I thank God for bringing into my life my accountability partner and I thank my accountability partner for offering plenty of encouragement while not allowing any excuses to enter the conversation.
© Cheri Swalwell 2017