Grab Your Spandex & Meet Me on the Path

My husband and I are switching gyms. Joining a gym can be one of the most stressful experiences on your path to fitness. When I joined my first gym, I was so scared to be at a gym with skinny spandex people who I thought would be filled with judgement and disgust at me. On the first day, I was so relieved to see, "my kind" there. You might ask what is "my kind"? Well what I like to call us is, nice, round rollie-pollie people - so much nicer than the word "fat" don't you think? Well, I learned quickly that the round rollie-pollie people are glad you are at the gym but they don't want to be seen talking to you or interacting. They give you the look which says, "keep strong, don't stop working out, glad you are here, but don't let the skinny spandex people see us together." I have met some very nice skinny spandex people who have been quite encouraging, and I have to give props to the skinny spandex people. Before I started on my path to fitness I thought you were either a skinny spandex person or a nice rollie-pollie person. You might say it's just the luck of the draw. But now I know that it's up to each of us and the choices we make each day that determines which category we will fall. So you could say I am on my way from rollie-pollie to skinny spandex and am hopeful I will make the right choices along the way. So grab some spandex and meet me on the path.

Hop On A Bike And Stay The Path

They say there is joy in the journey and that it is this journey and not the destination that matters. But I'm here to say that sometimesthe journey stinks. Sometimes it is a struggle just to get up and keep moving on the path. I have had a couple of difficult weeks finding motivation and frankly, just being happy about my diet and my road to fitness. This is the first time that I am actually pushing myself outside my comfort zone and often times when you push yourself, you get some bumps and bruises along the way. A few weeks ago I went to work out before church on a Sunday morning. On that morning, it was the first time I tried to ride a stationary bike. I know for many of you, riding a stationary bike is not a big deal. But for me it is totally out of my comfort zone. My husband was trying to help me and when I started riding I cannot tell you how painful it was because of an old leg injury. Riding a bike is one of my long term fitness goals. To be able to ride outside with my family. When I tried to ride it that Sunday morning, I failed miserably felt totally discouraged. I felt like I hit a wall and couldn't believe that I didn't even try. I was truly devastated and all I wanted to do was go home and go to bed and pull the covers over my head. But my husband and family didn't allow that and made me go to church. You know how when you get in that place where you feel sorry for yourself you just want to stay and wallow in it for a while?

I didn't want anyone to lift me up. But of course God had another idea. Our worship leader introduced a new song that day that spoke to me right in the middle of my pity party and I had no option other than to get up dust myself off and move forward. The song was called "Found" - a new song by an artist named Aaron Ivey (aaronivey.com) and from the first line, I knew God had some very important things to say to me through this song. The first line says, "Jesus, the healer of brokenness," and on that Sunday morning I cannot tell you how broken I felt both physically, emotionally and spiritually. Then the song goes on to say that Jesus is the "fixer of troubled souls" and by the time we got to the chorus of the song my eyes were filled with tears and my heart was looking up. I realized that God was telling me that God was my resting place and that God has taken my brokenness and made me whole again, and that my life is found in him.

I can literally write every line in the song and tell you how it reached in and touched me. You need to buy it for yourself from iTunes - it will be the best $0.99 you ever spend. Again, the title is "Found" by Aaron Ivey from the album, "Between the Beauty & Chaos." I realized that the only option for me was to get back on my path and move forward and that's what I've done. I got back up on the bike and am now able to ride it for 10 minutes. But those 10 minutes are huge for me and I now have the short-term goal of riding for 30 minutes. Then comes the long-term goal of being able to ride a bike outside with my family. Dont ever stay down. Get up, hop on a bike, and stay the path.