Feel the Burn

 

For the past few weeks I have enjoyed trying to establish a workout routine again.  I have been mainly lifting weights and I did go cross-country skiing a few times over the winter; but this week I couldn’t resist the nice weather.  I decided to go for a brief run.

 

I didn’t think too much about it.  I had been working out consistently for a few weeks, my heart and body felt good – a one-mile run should be nothing.  I put the leash on Andie and away we went, running down the block.  I felt good so I pushed myself a bit to get the most out of this brief run.  One lap around the neighborhood felt pretty good.  I ran past a neighbor who also had been jogging with his dog and looked beat.  I turned the corner for the second half-mile loop and suddenly, I knew how this guy felt.

 

I managed to finish the run, not feeling quite as great as I did when I started.  I laid on the living room floor, feeling the burn from the brisk pace I just pushed myself to run, and I thought to myself, “isn’t it sad that it is going to take me longer to recover from the run than it took me to run the mile.”  My heart was going.  My lungs burned from the cold air.  And for a while I didn’t know if I was going to be able to move.  Wow!  I guess I wasn’t quite in shape like I thought I was.

 

We don’t realize how much we have taken something for granted until we need it and find it is no longer there.  For the most part I am in pretty good health, but when I ran a mile at a vigorous pace I found I didn’t have the breath support I needed to keep me going.  The same can be true of our relationships.  We may think everything has been just fine but then a fight reveals the bad habits we have developed over the years as we have taken the other person for granted.  We may think our relationship with God is just fine, but then when tragedy strikes, we don’t even know how to ask God for help.

 

When we take something for granted we become complacent.  We don’t notice it, but over time, we slowly drift away.  Our regular attendance at church drops to three times a month, to twice a month, to once a month and then every other month.  Our scripture reading moves from something exciting and fresh to a chore.  Our prayers begin to sound more like a to-do list for God than a conversation of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication.

 

Laying flat on my back, I was reminded of the importance of a little exercise and getting back into the swing of things.  My run felt painful at the moment but I knew the more I exercised, the better my body would feel.  Sometimes that is all it takes, a little exercise, starting off slowly to get us back on track.

 

Lent isn’t just a time when we give up something; it is a time to focus on our spiritual exercises and renewing a deeper commitment and relationship with God.  It is time to dust off those spiritual muscles.  It is time to exercise our reading.  It is time to start up a conversation with God again.  It is time to go deeper, feel the “burn” as you exercise your faith.

 

 

In Christ’s Service,

 

Pastor Gordon

Phone: 507-663-6150

E-mail: pastor@littleprairieumc.org