Getting Back in the Practice

Over the summer I fell out of my normal routine of working out at least an hour every day. The reason was that I hurt my back and after about five trips to chiropractor it began to heal and stay in alignment. I lost all of the conditioning I had built up and it was pretty significant. The old adage, "use it or lose it" is so true, especially when it comes to being in shape physically. I recently read where if an athlete takes more than a two week break from training then they are basically starting all over again. Back to square one in their conditioning. Two weeks isn't very long in my book; sometimes two weeks flies by so quickly that it seems like a single day. So anyway, I've been back to my routine for about two weeks now and every P90X workout brings on newly sore muscles. Those muscles that were in tune to the workout are now being challenged to spring back into shape. It's tough. . . the older I get, the harder it gets but I feel so much better when I commit myself to working out everyday.

Yesterday I was feeling a bit tired, mentally, physically and spiritually fatigued. I was at a meeting out of town with two colleagues, one of which had to leave to go lead a noon worship service of Holy Communion. We decided to stay and worship because we knew we needed the break, the refreshment, the renewed connection with Christ. It was a quiet worship, only a dozen or so in attendance, but it was so peace-full. There was time to sit and talk to God. There was time to sit and listen. (And I didn't have to be in charge; I didn't have to make everyone feel at home; I didn't have to make sure everything was where it needed to be; I didn't have to think, I had the joy of just "being.") It was wonderful to get to practice just "being" for a time yesterday. So often the rush and pace of life prevents me from settling down and practicing what I know will truly bring renewal and refreshment. I make time to work out. . . to be in that sort of practice. . . I sometimes forget to make time for the other kind of practice.

How about you? Do you devote time to just "being" with God? Do you allow yourself the luxury, no the discipline, no the necessity of spending precious moments with our Savior? What gets in the way of such practice, because we know it's vital to our survival?! Will our spiritual muscles get flabby if we fail to put them into practice? From my own experience I would say, "yes."

Here's what works for me, and feel free to comment on what works for you so that all the readers of STS can benefit from your experience: I walk my dog, Martin Luther, just about every day. We go for one hour which is about 3.5 miles. This is the time I devote to Christ. I ask him to be with me by saying these words that indicate my assent to his presence, "Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy." I focus on breathing in the Spirit and exhaling the toxic stuff of my thoughts, fears and anxieties. It is my prayer practice. It works for me very well. It pulls me back to my grounding in Jesus and allows my day to go smoother, more grace-full. It changes me each morning into the person Christ would like me to be- okay so it's not a full change, I'm still simul justis et peccator, but you get the idea.

So seriously, what works for you? How are you doing on your practice? What keeps you from practicing?

May God bless your work and play, prayer and solitude, family time and rest. Amen.