I have a precious friend, Karen, I admire because of her commitment to total health- mind, body, and spirit. She inspires me to do all within my power to take care of myself. Much to my children’s dismay, the family eating habits were the first obstacle I tackled. While our diet is still a “work in progress” for me, I’ve moved my primary focus on to personal fitness.
I am a social person and the best way to get me to exercise is to do so with a friend. So, I called Karen and told her I wanted to be like her when I grew up (sucking up helps when you want something) and I asked her if she’d help me get myself into a workout routine. She graciously agreed.
We kicked this off three weeks ago, with sore muscles to prove it, and then I went out of town for a week. Today, we kicked things off again, and I learned that kick off day is no fun. She had me working on an exercise ball to build my core strength. I found out with 100% certainty that I have a core, it just has no strength. None!
Karen had me on my back with my feet on the ball. I was told to lift my rear end off the floor and move the ball to my waist using my feet. I know this is a scary visual, but stay with me here. There is a purpose to this story. Next she had the audacity to tell me my butt was sagging and I needed to lift it up. Can you believe it. I mean I already knew my butt was sagging, which is why I came to her in the first place. After watching her experience a wonderful ab workout laughing at me, we moved on to the next exercise.
For this exercise, I was to rest my torso on the ball and recline until my shoulders hit the ball. I had to hold my arms out straight (so I looked like the letter “t”) and plant my feet firmly on the floor. After securing the position, I was to roll as far to the right as possible without falling off of the ball and then do the same going left. Well, one really only knows how far is too far after it is too late. I don’t know if I improved my core strength at all today, but I am certain Karen has a six pack of abs going after our little workout.
I learned it is important to have good balance to work out, strengthen my core, and avoid injury. The same is true in life. I have to keep my balance in order to avoid hurting myself. Thank goodness, my day to day life does not depend on my ability to balance myself on a ball.
What does day to day balance depend on? We stay balanced by spending time in the Word and with Jesus each day. By planting His Word in our hearts, we will be able to sift our daily events through the Word and see what we need to spend our time focusing on and what we can let go of when it comes our way. As I learned today in exercise, some things require more focus or concentration than others. The Word of God is a tool God uses to point us to those things we need to focus on each day. The tool was given to all of us, but only those who use it will benefit from the Bible.
I may become a believer of the exercise ball before it is all said and done, but I am already a believer in God’s Word and its ability to help me lead a balanced life. Have tools, will travel. What about you?