Nope it doesn't...but in the end...

Fitness, health and nutrition is extremely important to me.  What we do for our bodies now absolutely determines how we will age.  At mid-life, I've recently decided to change it up a bit.  Instead of my 4 pm work-out ritual, I've moved to 4:30 am.  Say what??!!  I am now making myself get up (without hitting "snooze") even earlier than normal to work it.  And, I still have 1 hour to spend by the fire in quiet with God.  I love my slow mornings.  I know what you are thinking, "Slow mornings!  For heaven's sake...that's a 4 hour morning before your work even begins!"  Trust me when I say this (and everyone around me would agree)...life is downright ugly if I am not purposeful about having time alone and in total quiet.

Tuesday is my least favorite work-out routine.  It is called Plyometrics or jump training.  Everything within me screams in pain before I even begin.  I hate it every single time!  My alter-ego wants to reach through the screen, grab the instructors' necks and "smack the livin' daylights" outta them saying, "Quit smiling you big fakers!"  My thighs and knees cry huge crocodile tears.  And, I am tempted to say, "I am too old for this!  What on earth am I doing??!!"  But, I refuse to give in to the line that I am too old.  I watch the clock...15 more minutes...10 more minutes, 5 more...done.  Yes...I made it!  Yet, I'm still not convinced it was worth the personal agony (I know...I am being just a bit dramatic).

I've never thought of discipline as my "personal trainer" before.  But, Hebrews 12:11 speaks to this:  "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. In the end, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."  It is the pain, hardship and endurance of discipline that trains us.  Discipline is quite unpleasant and beats us for our good.  By staying in the pain, on the other side, we will experience righteousness and peace by discipline's training.

"And, therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees!"  In other words, to me this means:  Get up and work it!  Put your mind to it and make it happen!  Do the necessary tough stuff to have the strength to endure the hardships...or those work-outs that, like me, you absolutely hate.  Welcome it!  Yeah...it hurts real bad!  "Life is pain, Highness.  Anyone who says differently is selling something." (~Princess Bride)  We need to stay in strength training...spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally in order to have the fit muscles to face what tomorrow will bring.  Having that personal trainer by our side pushes us on; we have absolutely no chance of throwing in the towel.

Sometimes I think, "Is all this for nothing...is it really worth it??"  Bottom line:  yes, I believe it is.  It is about staying wholly fit, pushing past the painful moments and looking ahead with spiritual eyes to see the end product.  We can't give up.