This morning I was working out at the gym. I was in a cardio mood, so I split up my time between the track and the bike. I had left my iPod at home thinking that I would fine without it today. Usually, music is my saving grace during workouts. It keeps my mind from constantly thinking: only 10 minutes more, only 9 more minutes...But even without my iPod, I had a song stuck in my head. Unfortunately, I only remembered the chorus of the song because it was a new song at church last Sunday. Actually, I only remembered a few words. Still, some music was better than no music. Round and round the track I jogged, and over and over in my head I recited these words:
You are Stronger, You are Stronger
it is written, Christ is risen. ("
Stronger"lyrics by Hillsong)
(note: You = God)
Finally, after being lapped multiple times by a gentleman twice my age (talk about embarrassing), I headed downstairs to the bike. All the while repeating
you are stronger, you are stronger... It was soothing and humbling to remember that God was stronger than my aching legs.
I jumped on the bike and chose the cardio program. After all, it WAS a cardio day. I was soon reminded that the cardio program is based upon reaching your target heart rate. But in order to find your heart rate, the machine constantly asks you to
Keep Pedaling. Place Hands on Sensors. Need Heart Rate. The one caveat to this is that anytime you sweat, the sensors can't accurately pick up your heart rate. So over and over the machine read
Keep Pedaling. Place Hands on Sensors. Soon enough, I became annoyed. I just wanted to finish my 15 minutes and be done with it. But the machine kept shouting at me and I had no choice but to respond by shouting back (not literally of course)
I am pedaling. I'm pedaling as fast as I can!!! Give me a break. Even though YOU (the machine) can't find my heart rate, I certainly can tell that my heart is pumping. And I believe everyone around me can tell from my sweaty shirt that my heart is pumping. Still, the machine was relentless:
keep pedaling. place hands on sensors.7 minutes completed. I was halfway there. I decided to try something new. I told myself, okay, stop looking at the clock. Instead, look at the snow! Oh yea! It was beginning to snow. Woo Hoo! I was soon thoroughly distracted . Well, sort of. My machine was still yelling at me because it needed my heart rate. But at least I was caring as much anymore. And then I had a huge epiphany (slight exaggeration, but only slight). The machine wasn't yelling at me. It was simply reminding me that I WAS ALIVE!! Yes, that was it. There I was, watching the beautiful snow falling down outside, and it was all of the sudden perfectly clear:
This is what it means to be fully alive. My heart was beating. My legs were moving. My adrenaline was going. What else could I ask for? Suddenly I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Gratitude for my health. Gratitude for the beautiful snow. Gratitude for the funny ways God talks to his people and reminds them to
Keep Pedaling.It goes without saying that I was pumped for the rest of my workout. I kept pedaling. The snow continued to fall. And I thanked God for reminding me that being alive is a blessing and a gift.
What if God's message to all of us is simply this: "Keep Pedaling. Place Hands on Sensors." Or to put it another way, what if God wants us all to just keep going? Times might be tough. But just keep pedaling. Becausee it'll get better. You might be having a bad day or month or year. But just keep pedaling. You'll get past it! And all the while, listen to your heartremembering that life is a gift.
Being alive is a gift. My workout was winding down but then I realized that those lyrics were still playing through my mind. It was like my iPod was on repeat.
You are stronger. You are stronger....And then, I had another epipheny. Maybe not as big this time. Ok, yes, God is stronger. He is stronger than I will ever be. And that is a good thing. But what if "I" was stronger than I thought as well. What if "you," yes, you, are stronger than you give yourself credit for. I am not discounting God's strength and power, but if God lives in you and I, are we not strong as well? Yes, I believe this. You and I are stronger! Because God is with us. And because God is with us, we can keep pedaling.
Keep Pedaling. Place Hands On Sensor. This is what it means to be alive.
A few days ago I received a blogging award, the Lemonade award, from my friend Angie. (Thanks Angie. You know that you inspired me to start my own blog.) The award is for "making life a little sweeter" (it's the whole "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade" thing). 
