Warm Up

I was at a physical therapist again today for my back, & she reminded me (and taught me) about how VERY vital it is to do a warm-up of your muscles & stretch those ligaments, before working out. Good for my legs, but also great for my lower back. I hadn't been emphasizing that nearly as much as I should have, all the stretching. Here's an additional thought that I had this week while at Bally's Gym in Tampa. Mom was doing her water aerobics & I was on the elliptical trainer.


The warm-up -- it's about preparation (& a necessary one) for the REAL job of lifting weights & running. In my case, it's supposed to be at least 10 minutes on a bike or similar and probably another 10 doing stretching! But how much of our lives do we live in the "warm-up" mode? The girl saving things in a "hope chest" for her wedding one day, or looking at "Bride" magazine prematurely. College-- the whole thing, in many ways, is about "warming up" for & getting training for a future career. A young person doing hours of volunteer work, to gather good references --for a resume, or to enter a good college or med school, etc.

Maybe it takes the form of working in a firm, as a stepping stone to a promotion or to a better title--to what you really wanna do later. For instance, "Well, it's just working 80 hours a week for a year or 2, but then I'll finally be able to: spend daily time with God; or devote more time to my spouse; take a vacation; or do ministry in the church; get in shape... (you fill in the blank...). That's when your "real life" will finally start-- right?! For sure, these aren't bad-- these "preparation exercises." And we do want to prepare for the future, get trained (despite the fact that it's a "crunch" season), save money for a rainy day, and learn new things under mentors. But I want to be careful not to miss the present, all that God has in the NOW for me! I must avoid succumbing to a temptation to NOT live for NOW, by thinking that "well, it's not about the present, it's about the future." Could it be that the roots of this future-thinking comes from a dissatisfaction with life? Or not letting my satisfaction be found in Jesus, and thus, the luster of an "out-there" vision lures my thoughts and hopes too far from the now?

Jesus said, "Your Father in heaven knows you need all these things [food, clothes]...

give first place to his Kingdom and to what he requires...

so do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own." (Matthew 6:32-34)