Training
Yesterday, in a back issue of a biking magazine, I read the story of a guy who, in the course of five years, lost over 330 pounds through biking and managing his diet. His starting weight was 501 pounds. The story brought me to tears in a couple of places. He had to have his bike custom made to support his beginning weight. When he began to cycle, he often endured taunts, jeers and people throwing objects at him. When he began this odyssey, he could barely walk a few paces without having to sit down and catch his breath. As of now, he regularly bikes across entire states. How did he do it? One pedal stroke, one day, one meal, one breath at a time.
Yes. I know that last line sounds trite...but I would not call this person's journey trite. I would call it a triumph beyond belief. In fact, the guy's doctors told him there was no way anyone with the amount of weight he had to lose could do so without bariatric surgery or a similarly aggressive approach. The results did not happen over night. I'm guessing there were plenty of frustrations along the way. But he simply kept getting on his bike and riding as far as he felt he could. And then riding a little farther.
At the risk of making a sweeping generalization, our society is into immediate results without much effort. What the "Large Fella on a Bike" (this is the name of his blog...Google it if you want to read more about him) did was settle in for the long haul and commit to a daily practice. While he did this for his physical well being, there is a spiritual truth writ large in his jouney. Want to have a better prayer life? Pray today. Want to know more about the Bible? Read the Bible today. Want to have a better relationship? Spend time with the person you want to be in relationship with today.
Invest some time. Every day. Without fail. Get in training for the life abundant Jesus talks about. There's no telling where any one of us will end up...if we will only start.
Yesterday, in a back issue of a biking magazine, I read the story of a guy who, in the course of five years, lost over 330 pounds through biking and managing his diet. His starting weight was 501 pounds. The story brought me to tears in a couple of places. He had to have his bike custom made to support his beginning weight. When he began to cycle, he often endured taunts, jeers and people throwing objects at him. When he began this odyssey, he could barely walk a few paces without having to sit down and catch his breath. As of now, he regularly bikes across entire states. How did he do it? One pedal stroke, one day, one meal, one breath at a time.
Yes. I know that last line sounds trite...but I would not call this person's journey trite. I would call it a triumph beyond belief. In fact, the guy's doctors told him there was no way anyone with the amount of weight he had to lose could do so without bariatric surgery or a similarly aggressive approach. The results did not happen over night. I'm guessing there were plenty of frustrations along the way. But he simply kept getting on his bike and riding as far as he felt he could. And then riding a little farther.
At the risk of making a sweeping generalization, our society is into immediate results without much effort. What the "Large Fella on a Bike" (this is the name of his blog...Google it if you want to read more about him) did was settle in for the long haul and commit to a daily practice. While he did this for his physical well being, there is a spiritual truth writ large in his jouney. Want to have a better prayer life? Pray today. Want to know more about the Bible? Read the Bible today. Want to have a better relationship? Spend time with the person you want to be in relationship with today.
Invest some time. Every day. Without fail. Get in training for the life abundant Jesus talks about. There's no telling where any one of us will end up...if we will only start.
posted by FrGaryB | 9:30 PM
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