If you know me personally or follow me on Facebook you know that I've become very regimented in the last 3+ months when it comes to going to the gym. Yes, I'm at the gym weekdays at 5 a.m.
You see I've gone through several workout cycles in the last 6 years. During that time, I've had gym memberships and utilized two excellent personal trainers! Sadly, I'm a bit of an extremist when it comes to meeting goals. Working out and a strict diet is an area where this extremist cycle once again reared its ugly head. When I wasn't able to attain a happy medium of working out, eating healthy and just living, I gave up thinking I couldn't make it work.
It was just before my birthday last September that God blessed me with the inspiration of a good friend, who has become more of a sister in these last 5 months. Her name is Jen. She attends my church, is a mother of 4 young children (2 of which she is homeschooling), an amazing wife, tends to her parents and is a child of God! This is only a mere snippet of who she is, I could go on and on. Jen started on a weight loss journey last year first tackling the area of food and then exercise. Each week at church, I saw her shrinking in physical size but growing in, what I would say, peace and contentment.
For many years, I've always wanted someone to work out with. Last August, just before my 46th birthday, Jen had started walking and working out in a local park with a group of people from our church. I can't tell you if I asked her or she offered for me to come along but needless to say on my birthday I found myself walking my town's track early Sunday morning with one of the people from the workout group and planning to meet Jen and the other's the following day. This began our journey.
Now, in the summer the sun is up nice and early and due to work schedules a 5 a.m. workout session was the plan. Up until mid-October Jen and I were walking the park. As for the gym, I joined it first knowing that I didn't want to stop the workout I had become accustom to the last month. I remember the morning I told Jen I had joined the gym. I was afraid our time together was going to be over but no, the next day Jen told me she had gone ahead and joined the gym. We did have a few more walks in the park but as the temps changed we took our work out into Blink Fitness!
I can't tell how it happened but slowly we assembled a group of ladies joining us in our early workout regiment. These ladies are Angie, Jen, Kim, Adina, and just recently we've added Serina, Jenny and her mother Jen. Yes, that makes four Jennifer's but they are all unique and beautiful individuals.
As we have been working out together these last few months, our personal relationships with each other have been growing. Our greatest common bond being our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are daughter's of the King and sister's in Christ. We try to encourage and motivate each other to press on.
Its funny though because our little group of "Blinkers" were becoming known. Okay, so I post every morning that I am at the gym. Why? To encourage others to work out too. But those post seemed to be creating conversations everywhere I was going. These conversations made me start thinking about our group and its purpose. I knew what we were about and how we were encouraging and helping each other beyond just the physical aspect of working out but as Christian's were we showing what our true purpose is? Yes, we were growing together but in my heart I was feeling that God desired us to be MORE.
This pricking from God to be MORE was solidified when our group was brought up in a devotional time on New Year's Eve. It was in a good way. We are at the gym at 5 a.m. and not every day are we jumping up with joy to get out of bed at that time to workout even though we know it is to our benefit. As Paul talks about "pressing on" in the Christian walk, even when all is against us, we are pressing on to get to the gym. During this devotional time, I was able to let others (church family) know how this group is so much more, how relationships are being developed and we are encouraging each other not only physically but spiritually. Although I have to say, I was a little "caught in the headlights" when we were brought up in this devotional, I thank that person because I think God was using him to say, "be MORE!!"
As God was working on me, He was working on Jen too, who was away visiting family for two very longs weeks (we really missed her). It may have been the first day she was back with us, that she asked me as we were on the treadmills alone. "what do you think of us as a group doing an online Bible study together?" I was all for it, this is what God had for us to be MORE, and so when the others joined us we proposed it and it it was a unanimous "yes".
This week we started the "Made to Crave" Bible study being offered through Proverbs 31 Ministries. Before this started though, we set 30 day goals that we can encourage and pray each other through.
The reason I am writing all of this is to tell you how blessed I am that God put Jen and each one of these wonderful sisters in my life. You see with their help and encouragement, God is helping me to grow closer to Him and be used in the way He desires. These relationships are open, honest and transparent and I praise God for that too. We are growing daily, praying each other through the circumstances we face. Through these ladies, God is showing me what His family is like and I am so grateful and blessed.
So, although getting up to be at the gym isn't always fun, I know when I get there my sisters are waiting for me and that right beside us is our Father God.
As always, thanks for stopping by!
