Use it or Lose it

It was a tough week at the gym last week.

Those who know me well know that I am a gym rat. I'm at the gym at least 5 but usually 6 days a week. It's what keeps me sane and gives me stress relief. I'm a big fan of group exercise, because I have found that I push myself much harder when I am surrounded by others. I take zumba, which is a dance workout that is latin based, but my latest love is body combat, a rockin' kickboxing, martial arts class. It is hard core, emphasis on the word hard, and a fantastic workout.

But then I went away for about three weeks, to Brazil on a mission team, to Blackstone for a residency event, and to Richmond for my brother's wedding.

Hence, last week, my first week at the gym in three weeks, was a tough week.

I'm always amazed at how quickly one can lose the edge. I've been building up stamina for months, working hard and pushing myself, and after three weeks away I feel like I'm back at square 2. It was all I could do to keep up for the whole class, and boy have I felt it in my back, arms, and legs!

I think this rings true about the most important things in life: when we step away from them, even for a short time, we rapidly lose the ground that we have spent months building up.

The spiritual life is definitely this way. John Wesley would call this backsliding, when we get lazy or busy and neglect the spiritual disciplines, when we neglect our relationship with God and the way that this relationship intentionally calls us into relationship with others, when we lose our focus on God's will and call for our lives we start sliding back. And unfortunately, we all know that it's easier to slide down the hill than it is to climb back up.

Summer, while it is fun and spontaneous and unstructured, seems to be time rife with backsliding. There are so many other things to do, that worship takes a backseat to going out of town or "enjoying" the day off (a strange and un-Christian understanding of sabbath). We don't offer any Bible studies at the church, instead we take a break. And I would hazard a guess that many of us often take a break from the personal, spiritual disciplines that we practice as well.

But following Jesus Christ is an everyday commitment, with no breaks and no holidays (though there are holy-days). It takes focus and determination. It takes reordering of priorities and quite honestly, the reordering of life. It takes our response: to God's call, God's initiative, God's grace. It takes practice, which is one of the reasons why we work on spiritual disciplines. It necessitates community, to keep us accountable and to surround us with encouragement (again, it's all about group classes!)

May God keep us focused so that we can continue to press on toward the goal!