Cross-training

I wrote in my last entry that I am training for a marathon. I have been running diligently now for a year. I admit to taking four months off to recover from a car accident but other than this temporary hiatus from training, I have been running diligently since June of 2007. I have been a recreational runner for a long time so I have above average length strength. I knew that as I trained and ran more and more miles, my legs would get stronger and have greater endurance. What I didn’t know was that I need more than leg strength to run a marathon. I need upper body strength, too.

I discovered my need for increased upper body strength when various body parts starting hurting; my low back, hips, upper back, and neck. As I talked with a friend who is preparing to be a certified trainer, we discussed my need to strengthen my upper body. As I increased my mileage, my weak upper body could not hold itself up. As a result, I started leaning forward with my shoulders then I would lean forward at my hips. This breakdown in my running form created all the upper body aches and pains. The solution from my fitness trainer friend? Cross-training. I need to strengthen my upper body so I can run stronger and more efficiently.

I purchased a fitness program on DVD and have been doing the strengthening routines on my non-running days. Needless to say I am sore. I still have aches but they are of a different kind. These aches are the result of working muscle groups that haven’t been worked in a long time (if ever!). I don’t necessarily like this strengthening program (I much prefer to run) but I know that in order to finish a marathon, I need to train and strengthen my entire body, not just my legs.

I think our spiritual life is like training for a marathon. We can’t just do one thing and expect to be fully developed even for the task or activity we are doing all the time. We can’t just grow in one area and not others. For example, are you faithful and consistent to give your money and live by Biblical principles of giving but you do not give yourself and your time to others? Do you attend church every time the doors are open but do not volunteer in any area of service or ministry offering your gifts and talents to the church? Do you read your Bible regularly but pray only when things are difficult?

As a believer, I think it’s relatively easy to be strong and growing in one area while neglecting other areas of Christian living. The solution? Cross-train. If you have some aches and pains in certain areas of life, maybe you’re not as spiritually developed in those areas as you could be. Ask God to show you how to cross-train in these areas so that you can become a mature Christian possessing all the strength and endurance you need to run the race God has prepared for you.

A Rock in My Shoe

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” I Corinthians 9:25

“…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1
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I went running today. I am training for my first marathon and every workout is helping me move closer to be able accomplish this life-long dream. About a mile and a half into my run, I got a rock in my shoe. I felt it as it slid down into my shoe, worked its way under my instep and positioned itself in that spot where my big toe bends. I felt this rock every time my left foot struck the ground. This rock in my shoe and the resulting discomfort that was rapidly turning into pain reminded me of another rock in my shoe on a run years ago. I felt that rock, too, but kept running despite the pain it created for me. With every footfall I thought, “I should stop and get this rock out of my shoe.” But I didn’t. I was too busy running to stop and take care of this problem. Besides, I wanted to be tough and keep going. When I got home and took off my shoe I discovered blood on my sock. I knew the rock caused me pain but I didn’t realize that it had caused damage to my foot as well. The injury from that rock kept me from running for a week as my foot healed. As I remembered the rock in my shoe from years ago and the damage it caused, I decided that I would take the time to stop and remove the rock from my shoe. I did not want to create a problem that would interfere with my marathon training and keep me from running a race.

It was inconvenient taking that rock out of my shoe and I was very self-conscious. I was standing on the side of a country road with traffic going by in both directions. I was sweaty and breathing hard and having a hard time balancing on one foot as I tried to locate the rock in my shoe and remove it. It was a little thing. It took me several attempts to grab a hold of that very small rock (which happen to feel like a boulder) and remove it from my shoe. I remembered the rock from years ago being a small one, too. It’s amazing how something so small can cause such pain and discomfort.

I put my rock-free shoe back on, laced it up, and started running again. As I ran, I couldn’t help but think of spiritual rocks that I allowed in times past to lodge in various places in my soul. I was busy studying the Word and going to church, serving in children’s ministries, teaching adult Sunday School, and even preaching and doing women’s conferences here and there. I was doing everything I knew how to do to try and please God and serve Him and love Him. Yet, I did all those things with little rocks I had accumulated here and there because I was too busy with all these other seemingly spiritual activities. However, despite my good works, rocks of impatience and legalism, pride, frustration and anger, despair and discouragement began to cause me pain and hinder me in my relationship with God.

When God began to open my eyes to these rocks in my soul, I confessed my sins regarding these attitudes to the Lord and He graciously forgave me. As a result, I willingly submit to the refiner’s fire praying that God will cleanse me and purify me from all the spiritual rocks I have accumulated along the way. I also pray to keep from picking up more rocks along the way. I do not want anything that will keep me from effectively running the race God has for me.

What about you? Do you have a rock in your shoe? What about your soul? If so, take the time to stop and get it taken care of regardless of how inconvenient it might seem. Ask God to show you what you need to do remove the hindrance that keeps you from running the race He has prepared for you. It is true in a natural race that only one person receives the prize for finishing first. However, in our spiritual race , God has a prize waiting for each of us when we finish the race of faith. The Apostle Paul wrote about the crown of righteousness God has prepared for each person who has placed their faith and trust in Him. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (I Timothy 4:7-8).

Father God, give me the courage to stop and deal with the rocks in my soul. Teach me how to throw off and remove everything that keeps me from effectively and obediently running the race You have for me. Help me to live with hope regarding the crown of righteousness You have waiting for me Amen.