Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Lose Weight, Get in Shape

My breath made little clouds on the glass as I stood motionless staring out the window only half-comprehending the snowflakes each in their own unique design falling by the millions outside our cozy home. The world was a wonderland alive in my imagination.  
Okay, so I have to be more honest than that. Truth is, I was home alone, bored out of my mind, and resisting the urge to re-activate my Facebook account. But for me, often boredom can be a good thing (okay, sometimes). It forces me to be still. It quiets my ever-active self and makes my heart and mind more alert to the working of the Spirit.

In this case, my mind wandered to weight loss and getting in shape. Don't laugh, this is serious. Okay you can laugh, but in all honesty this is what I was thinking of. Then, a thought came to me: Losing weight does not equal getting in shape.
I pondered it for a short time, and then went on my way. Then, just an hour or two later, I had another dull moment. Something nagged at me. What was it that I was thinking of earlier? I'd tacked it to the bulletin board in my mind (Human Pinterest?) for future reference and soon was able to sift through the appointments and to-do's and recall what I'd been pondering. Then I pondered some more. Then a verse came to mind, and I turned to my journal to write down what I was thinking. It was something like this:

"Losing weight does not equal getting in shape.

Hebrews 12:1 says "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,..."

While losing weight is the first step, we've got the whole race ahead of us! We can't just abstain from the unhealthy, we have to be proactive. So get your running shoes on.
Nonetheless, lest you think we might win this race of our own accord, let me continue with the verse after the one quoted above. "...looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

We are runners, but He is the One who qualifies us to race."

So like I said, get your running shoes on. Through Him you've lost weight, but now it's time to get in shape. They go hand-in-hand. Run the race!

~Victoria Christine