Struggles

Struggles happen for a reason.  It is when we are in our struggle that we cling to Christ the most and we glorify him when we come out of a struggle. I feel that losing weight in my life has been used to glorify God.  When I started the couch to 5K program I had a light bulb moment.  Something inside me clicked. And it was intense.  I remember thinking that this could be something great- greater than what I was making of it. I started running 30 seconds and walking 30 seconds for 20 minutes in the beginning.  That is not even week 1 on couch to 5K.  In week 1 of the program you run 60 seconds and then walk 90 seconds- that was not going to happen!  So I altered it to what I was capable of and then moved up from that. My goal was to be able to run a whole 5K and finish it without walking.

 I was trying to prove something to myself and failure was not an option.  During this exercise journey I started asking God to help me and give me strength and endurance. He did. It was the first time in my 26 years of life that I knew I could not be successful in this journey in my own strength.  In October of 2010 I ran my first 5K ever. My victory was so much more than that- I had completed a fitness goal. That was the first fitness goal that I had ever completed. I remember tears filling my eyes as I thought that a year ago from then I was not able to walk to the mailbox without feeling out of breath and now I could run 5Ks.  You can beat temptation with determination.

“Dear Lord, help us please.  Every single soul in this room needs you to fill them up. Help us to make the right choices and give us the determination to beat the temptations of this world. We will only be completely fulfilled with you and not the things of this world.  Thank you Lord for giving us options, but please give us the wisdom and clarity that we need to make wise choices. Amen.”